Burn
by fairytellerxo
Summary: -Sequel to Caught Up- It's been two years of pure bliss for Jax, Noelle and their little family, but when a secret threatens to rip through them like a wildfire, will they be able to escape unscathed or will they burn?
1. Welcome Back

**Yay! A new journey!**

* * *

It had been two long amazing years for Jax. He had a gorgeous fiance, an even more gorgeous daughter and a son. A son who he had learned to love and raise. Now as he sat and watched his children chase after each other in the backyard, he couldn't keep the huge smile off of his face. Everything was finally going right, so right that at times, when he was alone, he'd try to figure out ways it could potentially go south for him. He shook his head as he watched Janelle start towards him, her light brown pigtails bouncing with every movement she made.

"Daddy!" Janelle laughed as she held her arms in the air, hoping that her father would hoist her up onto his lap. "Up!" She giggled as his large hands wrapped around her more tiny ones and lifted her up.

"Hey darlin'." He smiled at her as he dropped her hands. "You having fun playing with Abel?" He locked his eyes on the blonde haired little boy playing in the sandbox alone.

"Uh huh." She nodded her head as she reached up, her hands cupping his face. "Darlin'." She flashed a very familiar lopsided grin at him. "Where's mommy?"

"She's at the store but she'll be back." He placed a kiss to her head and smiled at her once again. "You need something?"

Janelle slowly shook her head. "Juice!" She slid of his lap, grabbing ahold of his shirt as she attempted to free him from his seat. "Daddy! I want juice!" She stomped her little foot and let go of his shirt as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Juice! Juice! Apple Juice!"

Jax couldn't help but chuckle at the toddler's antics, he shrugged as he continued to stare down at her, waiting for her to drop her arms down to her sides. "You're so much like your mom, it's kind of scary Janelle. Use your manners, what do we say?" He leaned forward, his hands on his knees as he glared at her.

"Pweese!" The brunette dropped her arms to her side and smiled. "Pweese! Pweese! Pweese! I want juice, juice, juice, juice! Pweese daddy!" She grabbed his thumbs and tugged with all her might as she dug her heels into the grass. "Juice!"

He laughed as he grabbed the little girl and tucked her under his arm as he looked at his son. "Come on kid, we're gonna get some juice." He watched for a moment as Abel stopped playing in the sandbox, slowly rising and moving towards him and Janelle. "What kind of juice do you want Abel?"

"Apple!" Janelle wiggled in her father's grasp as she looked at her big brother. "Apple juice! Abel wants apple!"

"Let him answer." Jax shook his head as they walked into the kitchen. "You gonna let your sister pick your juice out for you?" He sat Janelle on the sink. "I need you two to wash your hands, otherwise Noelle will have my head."

Abel shrugged, walking up the step stool to wash his hands. "I want grape juice, only Nelly likes apple juice." He shook his head as he stuck his tongue out at his little sister. "It's all she drinks!"

The man nodded. "I know, it makes life easier on me because I never have to ask plus, I only think she knows how to say apple juice." He dried off the small brunette's hands and tossed the paper towel away. "Grape juice for the man, apple for my darlin'." He pulled open the fridge, grabbing an apple juice and a grape juice. "Don't drink it fast Janelle." He passed her the juice box and smiled as he passed Abel his grape juice.

"Juice!" Janelle shouted as she crawled onto the kitchen chair, her legs swinging back and forth as she sipped on her juice. "Good!" She smiled at her dad and brother.

"What's happening?" Noelle entered the kitchen, dropping a few bags of groceries onto the counter before kissing Jax. "Juice time already?" She smiled at Abel then Janelle. "She give you two a headache or was she good?"

"She was loud." Abel looked up at the brunette and shook his head.

The brunette nodded her head. "I think she gets that trait from me." She shrugged and moved towards the kitchen table, her brown eyes locked on her daughter. "You were screaming your head off my love?"

Janelle shook her head. "No!" She shouted. "I was quiet."

Noelle chuckled. "Abel, take her outside and I'll bring you two a snack in a minute. Can you do that for me sweetheart?"

"Yes." He smiled, grabbing his sister's hand. "Come on Nelly, let's drink our juice in the fort."

"What's wrong?" Jax moved to the brunette, concern etched on his face. "Something happen while you were at the store Noe?"

"No." She shook her head as she moved towards the groceries. "You hear anything from Wendy? She usually doesn't leave Abel with us this long… I'm starting to worry about her Jax. What if something happened to her?"

Jax rubbed his face, staring at the woman in front of him. Leave it to Noelle to be worried about Wendy. She was full of surprises, wonderful ones. "Why are you worried? You know something I don't?"

"No." She shook her head and let out a sigh. "You're not worried about her? We've had him two extra days now and we've heard _nothing_ at all from her. Usually she texts me or calls you to let us know she's leaving him with usan extra day."

He shrugged. "I like having him here, so now I wasn't worried about not hearing from Wendy. She's not the most responsible person to begin with. Maybe she's caught up with her flavor of the week and blanked on calling us. Don't get yourself all worked up about it Noe. I'm sure it's nothing too big." He rested his hand on her cheek, smiling as she relaxed into it. "Now, what are you making us for snack time? I need a snack before I have to head over to the clubhouse anyway."

"Meanie face." She kissed him and smiled. "I'm thinking something quick like sandwiches, it'll tie them over until dinner anyways. You want yours with the usual?" She grabbed a loaf of french bread from her bag and set it on the counter. "Do you want me to grab you a beer to go with the sandwich, or would you love a juice box?"

Jax smiled at her. "I want my usual, no beer though. I'm feeling like, I want apple juice. It's all our daughter ever talks about. Not like she can say a lot but still." He pulled open the fridge and helped his girlfriend grab what she needed to make sandwiches. "You think she'll always love apple juice?"

Noelle nodded. "I think she'll grow out of the apple juice phase as soon as she tries other juices but she's two and a half, she's picky and I don't know how she got that way. I tried telling her a capri sun was apple juice and she cried."

"That's mean of you to do to my kid." He wrapped an arm around her waist and buried his face in her neck as he moved her towards the counter. "How about you just dump some cheese and crackers on a plate, give them to the kids and we get it in real quick before I have to leave for the night Noelle." He pulled at her jeans as he softly sank his teeth into her neck. "Come on baby, it's been way too long…"

"It's been two hours." She pushed back against him and smiled. "We can't right now, we have to actually watch the two children… They can't be left alone too long." She looked out the window and saw Abel trying to push Janelle on the swing.

"We can see them right from here." He moved his hands under her shirt and paused as he felt his phone start to vibrate. "I guess I'm not meant to get off right now…" He fished his phone from his pocket and groaned. "Yeah?" He mumbled into the phone as he continued to rub the brunette's side with his free hand. "I'll be there soon." He hung up the phone and slipped it back into his pocket. "I guess I'm going to have to take a raincheck on the snack and the fun with you."

Noelle sighed. "Too bad because you talked me into it." She turned around and smiled up at him and shrugged. "Problem at the clubhouse? That's a strange happening." She started to cut up the sandwiches for the kids.

Jax frowned. "You're killing me Noelle!" He pinched her side and chortled as she smacked his hands away. "I'll be back as soon as I'm done handling whatever it is they're having issues with." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Love you." He moved away from her, not waiting for a response as he shrugged his kutte on and walked out of the door.

 **SOA**

"What's wrong?" Jax slipped his raybans into his pocket and looked at Happy who was sitting at the edge of the boxing ring, his hands being wrapped up by Blair. "Club shit?"

Happy blinked at him ."Nah, Gemma needs your help with something. Had one of the guys make the call because she knew you wouldn't just drop everything you were doing to come to her aid. She's in your old room."

He rolled his eyes. "Alright, thanks man." He patted Happy on the arm and moved towards the clubhouse door. He waved and nodded to his brothers a he swaggered through the main room, he entered the hallway, immediately running into his mom as she was walking out of the bathroom. "What's wrong mom?"

"I got a problem Jax." Gemma grabbed his arm and started tugging him to his old room. "Need to show you something…"

Jax shook his head. "I don't think I like where this shit is going." He chuckled as he walked into the apartment behind his mom. "What're you showing me? I left Noelle and the kids at home, we were about to have snacks." He smirked at her, as he watched her yank the blankets off the bed, revealing a seemingly lifeless woman. "I swear, I haven't even been here to do that shit." He held his hands up and stepped away from the bed.

The older woman shook her head and kicked at the bed with the heel of her pointy boot. "It's Wendy, I found her passed out in the parking lot in her car." She rested her fists on her hips as she watched Wendy start to stir. "I think she may be drunk or strung out."

"Jesus Christ." He rubbed his beard and looked down at Wendy. "Explains why Noe or I haven't heard from her… Abel's been with us for a few extra days already. I just assumed she was caught up in her girlfriend or whoever it is she's with this week." He grabbed the glass of water from the desk and dumped it on her. "Wendy…"

"Jackson…" Wendy mumbled as she wiped at her face, struggling to lift herself off the bed. "What're you doing here? Why are you in my room?"

"You're in the clubhouse Wendy." Jax tugged her up by her arms. "What are you on Wendy?" He shouldered her weight as he moved towards the en suite bathroom. "Tell me."

"I'm sorry Jax. How's Abel?" She looked at him through slits in her eyes as she felt him sit her down on the tub. An act that he had done so many times before when they were together. "Is he good?"

He nodded as he reached over and turned on the cold water. "Yeah, he's good. He's at home playing with Janelle on the jungle gym." He pushed her into the tub and stood back as the cold water started to wake her up more. "What did you take and where the fuck did you get it Wendy?"

"I just took some pills." She started crying as she looked at Jax. "I'm sorry Jax, I'll get help."

Jax shook his head. "I guess Noelle was right to be worried about you… I'll keep _my_ son until you get your shit cleaned up Wendy." He moved out of the bathroom as he pulled his phone from his pocket, he was going to have to let Noelle know, Abel was moving in with them indefinitely.

* * *

 **Just going to jump into some drama from the start. Let me know what you think. (:**


	2. Talks

Noelle watched as Abel and Janelle napped on each of the sofas, her arms crossed as she studied each kid carefully. Trying to pick out any similar features they may have inherited from their father, so far, she was coming up short every time. The only thing the two children had in common was the color of blue their eyes were, well Abel's two blue eyes and Janelle's single blue left eye. She shook her head, turning slightly as she heard the door creak open. "Hey babe."

"Can we talk?" Jax grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the bedroom without even awaiting her answer. "You didn't answer your phone so I came right over."

She groaned. "I was putting the kids down for their naps and I guess I blanked on returning the call… What's up?"

He ran a hand over his head and sighed. "Wendy turned up at the clubhouse… Strung out of her minds, saying she took pills. I left Gemma with her but I need to tell you, Abel will be staying with us indefinitely. I'm sorry baby."

Noelle ran her fingers through her curly tresses and shrugged her shoulders. "I thought you were going to tell me someone died… I'm fine with him staying with us Jackson. That's never a problem, I've grown to love the little guy." She smiled up at him. "Now, are you going to be sticking around here or are you going back to the clubhouse to sober up your ex?"

He shook his head as he wrapped her up in a tight hug. "No, I'm not dealing with her and this shit… I've done it was too many times when I was younger." He kissed the side of her neck before pulling his arms away from her. "I am going to stay around here, maybe work on my bike or truck."

"No, no." She shook her head and turned him around. "You need to move my office stuff out of the room, if he's going to stay he needs a proper room, so just put my stuff in the garage and I'll get to it this weekend."

"That's your little office though Noe…" Jax turned back around to look at her. "What'll you do when you want to do all your scrapbooking shit that you and Janelle spend hours and hours doing?"

Noelle laughed and stared at him. "I love that you have been paying attention to my scrapbooking fun with my Nelly… I don't know, I'll figure something out but it won't be fair to not give him a full room if he's going to be staying with us for longer than a few days… So, just move the stuff out of the room and I'll figure out the craft situation later babe."

He cupped the back of her head and nodded. "I'll figure something out, maybe we can share the garage if you can stand to be in there with all my shit."

"I would die from the fumes of your car and bike stuff." She shook her head. "I have to meet with my mom tomorrow to go over wedding plans… Can you watch the kids? Or do I need to take Janelle with me and just leave you with Abel?"

"Take her with you please!" He chuckled. "I love her but she's just too much at times for me to handle." He grabbed her hips and lifted her up. "I'm just gonna put off my chores for a bit, I want to nap with my soon to be wife." He carried her to the bed and dropped on it softly, adjusting his weight on top of her. "Your tits are still like pillows…"

"I know, I love them." Noelle ran her hands over his short hair and sighed. "I hate to say it Teller but I miss those long golden shoulder length locks you used to sport…"

Jax scoffed. "I told you that you were going to miss the hair when I was getting it clipped off by Opie… I don't think you took me seriously but here we are and there's nothing we can do about it now."

"I know! That stupid ass hair, I miss it so much." She laughed as she wrapped her legs around him and poked at his sides. "It'll grow back before the wedding…"

"I'm keeping my hair short for the wedding." He adjusted his weight so he was pinning her against the mattress. "No fussing about it either."

 **SOA**

"Daddy! Mommy! Daddy! Mommy!" Janelle jumped on the bed, trying to wake her parents up. "Daddy! Mommy!"

"I'm awake." Jax grabbed the little girl, cuddling her to his chest as she giggled and tried to wiggle free. "Tone it down a bit, your mom is still sleeping."

"I'm awake." Noelle looked at the pair and smiled. "I was up as soon as the first daddy left her mouth… You have a good nap Janelle?"

"Yes." She smiled and nodded. "I want juice."

"Of course you do my love." The brunette sat up in bed and pulled the two year old into her lap and smiled. "I'll give you juice with dinner, is your brother still sleeping or is he awake?"

"He's up." Janelle kissed her mom's face. "Juice! I wanna see Juice!"

"Apple juice or uncle Juice?" Jax looked at the pair of brunettes and smiled. "I'm going to go check on Abel."

"Uncle!" Janelle yelled. "Juice!"

"I'll take you to see him later." He rolled out of bed, smiling once more at his girls before moving out of the room and to the living room. His blue eyes landing on his son who was watching cartoons. "You have a good nap?"

"Yeah." Abel nodded, slowly looking at his dad. "Where's mommy?"

Jax rubbed his face and looked at the little boy. "She's with Grandma Gemma. Your mommy is sick, she can't be around you until she gets better. Do you understand?"

"I wanna see her." He looked back at cartoons and smiled. "I'll make mommy feel better. I'll tell her a story like I told Nelly when she was sick. 'Member?"

He nodded his head slowly. "I remember that buddy… You like always being around your little sister?"

"Yeah, I think her eyes are weird though. How come she has only one blue one? Is Nelly a monster?" Abel gaped up at his father. "She is!"

Jax had to laugh. "No, you're sister isn't a monster, she just has special eyes. One from me and one from her mom… They make her unique but she's no monster… Well, she can be loud like one sometimes though, huh?"

"Yes… She hurts my ears sometimes but I still like her." He smiled at his dad. "Please, can I see mommy? I want to make her feel better."

"Yeah, I'll take you to see her but keep in mind she's sick." He sat down on the sofa and pulled the young kid close to him. "You think we should bring Janelle? Let her give Uncle Juice a headache?"

"I think we should." Abel laughed. "She'll have fun."

"We'll go see her first thing tomorrow morning. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you." Jax tousled the blonde's hair and smiled. "You can draw her some pictures after dinner."

* * *

Jax held his daughter's hand as he walked into the clubhouse behind his son Abel. He had kept to his word of allowing the young boy to see his _sick_ mother. "She's in the back room… You know where you and Nelly sometimes nap?" He tapped the boy's head and continued on down the hall, not stopping to talk to anyone.

"I hope she likes the pictures I made." Abel looked back at his dad and sister before turning the knob to allow them inside the room. "Mommy!" He trilled as he saw her sitting up in bed, a surprised look on her face. "I brought you pictures, dad said you're sick."

Wendy looked at Abel, then to the stack of drawings he had placed on her lap. "I love them baby… I will hang them all up." She looked towards Jax who was still holding his daughter's hand and smiled. "Thanks for this Jax…"

He nodded. "He was persistent… I didn't want him seeing you like this but I couldn't keep telling him no. He has that stubborn Teller trait." He looked down at his daughter and smirked. "You two behave and talk. I'm going to see if I can't track down Juice for Janelle."

"Juice!" The brunette dropped her dad's hand and clapped. "Bye Abel! Bye Wendy." She moved towards the bed, giving her brother a kiss on the cheek before backing away. "Juice!"

Jax scooped her up from the ground and tucked her under his arm. "Let's go find Uncle Juice so you can bug him for awhile, I'm gonna have to talk to your grandma." He closed the door behind him and walked back out into the main room of the clubhouse, his eyes scanning the space for Juice. "There he is, let's go say hi."

"Juice!" Janelle moved towards her favorite uncle and smiled. "Hi!"

"Hey pretty girl." Juice smirked and lifted the toddler onto his lap. "I haven't seen you around here, what's up?"

"Can you keep an eye on her a bit? I have to talk to Gemma about somethings." Jax looked at the younger man and smiled. "She won't give you any trouble, you're her favorite uncle."

"Yeah, man. I'll watch her." He nodded before looking at the brunette. "So, do you want to see if we can find some apple juice kid?"

Yes!" Janelle smiled. "Bye daddy!"

"Bye darlin'." Jax watched the two trot off towards the kitchen before pushing away from the wall and starting towards the office. He knew he'd most likely find his mom there. "Gemma." He pulled open the door and felt a wave of relief rush over him as he spotted her sitting at the computer, her glasses perched on the end of her nose.

"What is it?" Gemma looked from the screen to her son as he took a seat in front of the desk. "You need help?"

He shook his head slowly. "I came to talk…"

"About?" She removed her glasses from her face and studied the man carefully. "What'd the junkie bitch do now?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Wendy, Abel is in there with her now. He kept on asking to see her so I bought him and Janelle." He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm going to need you to watch after Wendy, not here though. I don't want her with easy access to drugs or booze. This place is the last place she needs to be at. I want you to take her to your place, at least until we find her a treatment facility to go to."

"Why do you care so much about her getting better?" Gemma leaned forward on her elbows and smirked at him. "You still have a soft spot for her?"

Jax shook his head. "No but her fuck up is messing with Noelle… She gave up her office to make sure he had his own room. I love having Abel around but he needs to be able to spend time with his mom. If she's not being helped then I will have to find a bigger house so there's room for everyone…"

"I'll take the junkie home with me." She rolled her eyes. "As for Noelle, she can set up her office in the damn garage or in the living room. She doesn't need an entirely new house to have an office. She should be able to make due with what she has."

He chuckled. "I know she doesn't need a whole new home but I want us to have the room. She loved her own little office space… She is all for sacrificing for Abel, she fucking loves that little boy like he's her own flesh and blood. That's rare to have in a woman. I just need to keep the balance, especially with the wedding being a few weeks away. I'll need everything to be settled and drama free. I'm tired of drama and Wendy needs to get her shit straightened out, if she doesn't, I'll be filing for full custody of Abel and moving into a bigger place." He stood up from the chair, smoothing the front of his cut. "I'll stop back in here before I leave, if you want to see Janelle, she's in the kitchen drinking juice with Juice. I'm going to see if I can't talk some sense into Wendy."

Gemma nodded nervously, knowing that if her son sought out full custody, her plan would unravel. "I'll take care of her, get her back on track." She nodded before watching him disappear out of the office. "Goddamn it…" She smacked the desk as she tried to figure out what her next move would be.

* * *

 **Thanks for the reviews guys! I loved reading them and hope this story will be a ton better than the last one. (:**


	3. New Addition

Noelle walked into the backyard, measuring tape in hand as she looked around the expanse of yard. She had talked with Jax and decided that her office would be moved into the backyard, into a newly built space that he had ensured her a dozen times that he would take care of and build but hadn't even taken measurements for it.

"What're you doing?" Abel moved next to the brunette and held her hand. "Are you gonna play on the swings again?"

She laughed and looked down at him. "Nope, I'm going to measure the yard and see where your dad can build me a new office… Remember how we painted the room blue and decorated it for you? That's what we're gonna do for me but outside."

"I love the color of blue." He nodded as they moved towards the corner of the yard. "Aren't you going to be scared out here by yourself?"

Noelle shook her head. "I'm going to just work in the new room, not live in it. I never feel scared when you're around. You'll protect me right? Just like you protect Janelle." She smiled at him again. "You're the best big brother to her."

Abel looked back at the house and smiled. "She's my sister and dad told me to always protect her and you. Even if she looks weird because of her eyes."

The brunette laughed as she started measuring the space. "Her eyes are pretty. She has the best traits of both me and your dad… Not everyone can be as lucky as you with the _pair_ of blue eyes these days."

"But it makes her look like a monster." He laughed as he watched Noelle scribble on a notepad. "I think you should paint the new room blue!"

"I was thinking lilac but I could work in a light blue room." Noelle hooked the tape measure on her back pocket and sighed. "You wanna grab Janelle and go get some ice cream or something? Then we can go visit my mom."

"You're mom has my hair color, how'd that happen?" Abel looked at Noelle intensely. "Did you dye your hair like grandma does?"

"Nope. I'm adopted, my real mommy didn't want me so I was given to a mommy who wanted me. That's why she has different colored hair." She smiled as she walked them into the house and down the hall to her daughter's room. "It's a little difficult to understand but sometimes you can get new mommies."

"So if my mommy didn't want me, you'd be my new mommy?" He looked between Noelle and the pink bed.

"Only if you wanted me to be. Your mommy loves you though she'll always want you Abel. So, we don't have to worry about it. I'll always be here for you though, to cuddle and love you when you're spending time with us while your mom is sick. It's why you have your own room now, just like Nelly." Noelle rubbed the sleeping girl's back and smiled as she began to stir. "I love you just as much as I love Janelle."

"Grandma said you didn't love me." Abel looked at Noelle. "Was she lying?"

Noelle groaned as she felt her blood begin to boil. "Yes, she's lying. I love you and always will. When did she tell you that?" She moved around the room, angrily grabbing her daughter's clothes from various dressers. "I'm going to have to talk to her, remember what I said about lying?"

"It's not nice to do." He sat on the bed and tickled Janelle's feet, smiling as she woke up and glared at him. "She's awake."

"No tickles Abel." Janelle rubbed her eyes and kicked at her brother's hands. "No tickles!"

"We're going to get ice cream!" Abel shouted. "That's why I woke you up."

"Juice." The tiny brunette shook her head as she fought against Noelle's attempt to change her out of her pajamas.

Noelle sighed. "Come on baby, if you put your clothes on, I'll give you a cup of juice. Abel and I really want to go get some ice cream with sprinkles and gummy bears before we find your dad. I have to talk to him."

"Daddy!" Janelle lifted her hands over her head, allowing her mom to easily change her into her clothes. "Daddy! Juice! Ice cream!"

"All three babe." The brunette smirked. "Now, let's run a brush through that wild hair of yours and put your shoes on then we're good to go. Abel, do you have your shoes on?"

"Yes." Abel pointed to his feet and flashed a lopsided grin.

"I swear you all have that lopsided grin down." Noelle laughed. "Let's get going."

 **SOA**

"Can you watch them?" Noelle looked up at Happy as she pointed to the two kids standing beside her. "I really need to talk to Jax, then to Gemma…"

Happy shook his head. "What's wrong now? I can see the steam coming from your nose and ears Noelle."

"Gemma is telling lies…" The brunette looked back at the kids. "That's all I'm going to say in front of them. Can you just please watch them?"

"Yeah." Happy nodded. "Don't get yourself hit by the woman. She's in a bad mood today."

"Whatever, I'm in a bad mood today." Noelle moved away from Happy. "You two behave for Happy or I'm going to put you both in a box and ship you to the middle of nowhere." She smiled before giving each kid a kiss on the forehead before turning around and heading inside. "Jax!"

"He's in chapel." Chibs looked at the brunette. "What'ya want?"

"I need to talk to him." She moved towards the chapel, banging on the doors loudly. "Jackson!"

"Jesus Christ!" Jax opened the doors and pulled Noelle into the room, slamming them shut behind him. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Noelle scoffed. "Your psycho ass mother told Abel that I didn't love him! Who the fuck in their right mind tells a kid that type of shit? Huh?"

"How do you know this?" He looked at her intently, his lips curling up at the corners as he processed what he was just told.

"We were outside bonding, talking about my mom and how she became my mom. He told me that Gemma said I didn't love him. I don't want him to believe that bullshit Jax! You know I love that little boy as much as I love Janelle! I would do anything to protect him and see him happy but Gemma is over here trying to poison him against me. What's the point of that shit? Why would she say that?" She dropped her eyes to the spot covered floor and sighed. "She's still trying to get rid of me isn't she?"

Jax pulled the brunette into a hug and rubbed her back slowly. "She's just trying to control the fucking situation… I don't fucking like this shit but I think if you approach her on it, she'll deny it and claim that Abel is five and five year olds twist the truth and don't repeat shit back properly. I support you if you want to confront her about it."

"She's crazy Jax." Noelle shook her head. "You have to be a vile creature to tell a kid some shit like that. I don't want him to ever think I don't love him… I don't want him to see me as a wicked step mom."

"The kid loves you babe. Don't worry about it, Abel is a smart kid. He can tell that you love him. From the first time he stayed with us, you two have been close. Remember when I found you two cuddled on the sofa, watching Finding Nemo?" He chuckled and shrugged. "Don't worry about Gemma, Abel is the only one who matters in that weird equation. I'll talk to Gemma. I'll tell her she won't be allowed to see him if she wants to tell him shit like that. Okay?" He held her face in his hands and nodded as she did. "I love you."

"I love you too." Noelle smiled. "I took the measurements for the new addition."

Jax rolled his eyes. "Stop worrying about the office, I told you I have it figured out. It'll be up this weekend. I promise you that much. Grab the kids and go home and relax."

"Fine, fine." She smirked. "I'll stop worrying about it. I'm gonna take the kids home and you'll probably find us in bed watching cartoons and eating popcorn. Janelle also learning a new phrase today while we were out having ice cream and I think you're the one to blame for it Jax."

"What'd she learn?" He irked a brow at her. "Is it 'I'm all about the fairytale baby'? I've been working on that one with her."

Noelle shook her head. "Jesus fucking Christ! That is what our child yelled out when she dropped her ice cream. In her high pitched toddler voice. Does that phrase sound familiar? That's why I kept telling you to mind your damn mouth around her. She thought it was the funniest thing in the world. I told her she couldn't say that and she was like daddy does!"

Jax laughed. "I would have killed to be there to hear it. That's my little darlin'."

"Don't encourage her to have a potty mouth babe. She's a little lady and should behave as such." She kissed his lips softly. "I should get going, I left them with Happy. I think he's been tortured enough, hell, I may walk outside and have two little killers on my hands…"

"Go." He smirked. "I'll handle my mom." He moved away from her, watching her leave the room before following short after. "Where's Gemma?"

"I'm right here." Gemma looked at her son and smirked. "What's wrong Jax?"

"What's wrong?" Jax laughed and shook his head. "You're fucked up in the head! That's what's wrong." He moved closer to her, forcing her back into the kitchen. "You told _my_ son that Noelle didn't love him? What was the purpose of that? You should get it through your head that Noelle is here to stay. So stop trying to poison Abel against her Gemma!"

"She tell you that?" The brunette crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Or did you hear it straight from Abel."

"I know Noelle well enough, so don't even try to fucking lie and say she made that shit up. The last thing she's going to do is start shit with you." He snarled at her and moved towards the door. "Keep up this bullshit and I'll keep you from seeing Abel… I don't care if Wendy wants you around him, she has no say now that she's relapsed and incapable to make valid decisions right."

"You're making big mistake Jackson." Gemma glared at him. "That little boy will choose me over Noelle every time."

Jax shook his head, not even justifying the stupidity coming from his mother's mouth as he exited the kitchen. "I'm going to handle business." He mumbled to Chibs. "If Gemma leaves the clubhouse, let me know…"

 **SOA**

"What're you doing?" Jax walked into the kitchen his eyes moving from Noelle to the paper covered table. "You turn our kitchen into a scrapbooking station?"

Noelle shook her head. "Nope. We just got done doing arts and crafts." She pointed to the fridge. "I'm seeing that Abel has more of a natural artistic talent than Janelle but Nelly has a way with wanting to plaster anything and everything with glitter. I have learned that two year olds are best kept out of arts and crafts. She tried to eat a glue stick. I don't know what's wrong with that little girl."

"It's what toddlers do." He shrugged and started picking up the papers. "I talked to my mom earlier, she basically tried to say you lied about what Abel told you. So, I went and had a long chat with Wendy."

"But to try to eat a glue stick? I guess it's better than her trying to eat the glitter." She sighed. "How'd that go?"

"It went nowhere, she's still set on Gemma being a large part of the kid's life. It's like her brain is so warped she can't even tell Gemma isn't doing anything but controlling her and the situation. I wanted to strangle her." Jax accepted the beer from the brunette and took a long sip. "The only way we keep Abel from Gemma is if he's around here with us. Are they napping?"

"Yeah but if you're going to say something bad I suggest we move this conversation to the backyard, I could always go for a swing." Noelle grabbed herself a beer and walked out onto the back patio, closing the doors behind Jax. "Spill it, all of it."

"I love Abel but I'm not sure about him being here full time." He watched the brunette as she sat on the swing and started to move back and forth. "Does that make me sound like a shitty parent Noe?"

She shrugged. "It makes you seem like an annoyed parent. I get it, you didn't sign up for full time with more than one child but it's the cards we've been dealt Jax. You either play the hand or fold. I know it's a little more work because usually when he leaves you only have to worry about Janelle and she's easy to please, you give her juice and Elmo. Abel you have to actually entertain him, stimulate his mind. You can do it though, you just need to stop running from the responsibility. Take him to the garage, show him the different parts of a motorcycle, tell him your dreams for him. Make sure he knows you want better for him than to be stuck in Charming and becoming a Son."

"Why do you always have to be right all the time? I just don't want anyone romanticizing this lifestyle. If I wasn't a Teller, I don't even think I'd be in this life, maybe I would have finished high school and gone off and traveled." Jax swiped her beer and took a swig. "I think you need to not drink."

"Rewrite the Teller legacy, starting with Abel. Make sure he knows that there is more to life than being an outlaw and there are better cities than Charming. It's on you Jax, you can't just keep ignoring the kid. Do more than the bare minimum, I hear you talk to Janelle all the time about what you want her to do." Noelle tilted her head back and smiled at him. "Jackson Teller, you need to talk to that little boy and answer whatever questions he has for you."

He groaned and nodded. "Alright, I'll do it. I'll find something to bond with him over. I love you Noelle and I promise that the new addition will be up soon."

"Bond with him over the new office. Let him pick out the paint color. Just include him Jax, it'll be a memory he'll cherish forever and tell his kids about. The time you and him built and painted an office for me." She laughed and moved off the swing. "You know what you have to do, do it!"

Jax nodded, watching the brunette disappear back into the house. Leaving him alone with his thoughts. He knew she had a point, he just wasn't good with kids who asked questions, Janelle was easy because she didn't understand half of what he told her but Abel would understand everything and ask a million questions. Questions, he wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to answer.

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 **Thanks for reviews. I loved reading them.**


	4. Building Bonds

**Thank you so much to my readers who have been leaving wonderful reviews, also thank you to the readers who have sent me PMs, they all mean so much to me and I cannot thank you enough.**

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Jax shrugged his cut on as he sat on the end of the bed, he had been up for the last few hours. His mind not allowing him to rest as he kept thinking over and over about how to convey his love and support to Abel. He had a way with words, he could persuade anyone with a few fancy words and a smile but this, this was different. The words he needed and wanted to speak to his son, were going to be difficult to speak. He never found himself being able to speak openly about feelings unless he was alone with Noelle, he told her anything and everything, knowing that she would still love and support him, no matter the sordid tales he shared with her when he rolled into bed at three in the morning.

"Your thoughts are loud Jax." Noelle yawned as she watched him turn around and offer up a tired smile. "You sleep at all?"

"A few hours, not much." He laid back down, his feet hanging off the side of the bed as he rested his head on her abdomen. "I've been thinking about how I can say what I need and want to say so Abel will understand me. I don't want him to ever think I don't support or love him."

"Like I said before, just be honest. He may not understand everything you have to say now but eventually he'll understand it all. I talk to him all the time about stuff, I'm not sure he gets it completely but one day he will." She moved her fingers slowly over his temples and smiled as she felt him begin to relax, knowing it would be a matter of time until he was sleeping soundly. "Just pretend as if you're writing in one of your journals… Hell, if you can't say everything to him now, write it in a journal and give it to him to read when he's older."

Jax nodded his head slowly, knowing that Noelle had a point, anything he couldn't say, he could always write. "When are you ever wrong?"

Noelle laughed. "More time than I am right… I was thinking something, about our wedding…"

"What? Having second thoughts about marrying into my crazy ass family?" He smiled up at the ceiling. "I told you what you were getting into."

"No, no second thoughts about marrying you. I want to see if Abel would be the ring bearer, I think it'd be cute, him in a suit and all that." The brunette smiled and lightly tapped her fingers over the man's forehead. "You should get a little more sleep."

"I hope you don't expect me to wear a full on suit babe." He flipped over resting his head on her stomach and smiled up at her. "He'll be the ring bearer, I won't let him get out of it. Plus, him and Janelle can dance with you while I watch from the table and sip a beer."

"The fact that you think there will be beer at the wedding is absolutely hysterical." Noelle laughed. "It's at a vineyard, there will be wine and liquor… Not beer."

"There will be beer, I don't care if I have to smuggle it in myself." Jax rolled off the brunette and yawned. "When are you going to leave for the shopping day with Blair?"

"In a few hours, why?" She turned to face him. "You gonna take a nap?"

"Yup, so are you." He pulled her to him and wrapped himself tightly around her. "Don't fight it, just give in."

 **SOA**

"Not that I don't mind seeing your body but where is the rest of your shirt?" Jax ran his fingers over the hem of the crop top Noelle was wearing. "I thought moms started wearing more clothes not less."

"It's pushing 100 outside, you think I'll be covered up?" She shook her head and pulled on a lightweight button up over her shirt. "That better babe?"

"Nope." He shook his head and started buttoning up the over shirt. "Now, I'm satisfied with the way you look."

"Next time I'll just be like all you weirdos and wear a damn flannel." Noelle tugged on the front of Jax's blue flannel. "I'm starting to wonder how you don't stroke out while riding. You have so many damn layers on."

Jax shrugged. "It's a talent… So, you and Elle are going to be shopping while Abel and I do manly stuff like talk about feelings and pick out paint?"

"Yes, we're going to shop and then catch a late lunch with my mom." She kissed his lips and smiled. "I suggest you stay away from pinks and dark purples...Have fun with Abel and paint shopping."

"I want juice." Janelle toddled into the room, her arms wrapping around her father's legs as she looked up at him. "Daddy, juice."

"No, no more juice for her. She's had two cups already." Noelle shook her head. "Where did your headband go Janelle?"

"Off." The tiny brunette touched her head and smile. "I have hair."

"The prettiest light brown hair I've seen in awhile." Noelle smiled. "At least she kept her shoes on this time."

Jax smirked. "She's bound to figure out how to take those shoes off soon."

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't jinx me like that, do you know how many shoes she takes off in the store? Too many, if I didn't want her to look cute, I'd make her go barefoot or in socks every damn where we go." The brunette shook her head as she looked at her daughter. "Go get your headband from your room."

"Just keep her in lace up sneakers, it'll be a few months until she realizes how to untie them and slip them off. She looks cute in her white Nikes." He smiled and watched Abel and Janelle walk back into the room, the young boy trying his hardest to get the headband on his sister's head.

"Her head is too big!" Abel frowned as he looked at the crooked headband on Janelle's head. "I tried."

"It's alright buddy." Jax adjusted the headband. "It takes some practice to get it right."

Noelle nodded. "We're gonna head out, leave you to men to do your manly things. I love you both… We'll be home with dinner."

"Love you!" Janelle hugged her dad before hugging Abel." Bye, bye Abel!"

"Bye Nelly." Abel smiled as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"It's just us now." Jax smiled down at Abel. "What do you wanna do first? Paint shopping or should we watch the guys build the office?"

"Can I help them build it?" He asked.

"Yes. I think I have tools in the garage that you can use. Let's go try to find them. Do you want to build things when you're older?" Jax lead him down the hall and into the kitchen, pausing before opening the door that lead into the garage.

"No. I'm going to be a fighter jet pilot." Abel watched the older man carefully as he pulled a toolbox from the shelf. "I saw fighter jets with Noe."

"So, Air Force?" Jax opened the toolbox, looking for tools that would be suitable for Abel to use. "That's pretty cool."

Abel nodded enthusiastically. "I'm going to be a pilot and then on my days off, I'm going to build stuff. Noe, she said I can do whatever I set my mind to."

He smiled. "She talk to you about stuff all the time?"

"She talks a lot, asks so many questions." The five year old smiled. "She says it's because she used to want to be a lawyer, so she likes to get down to it. Now, she just wants to be a mom."

Jax couldn't help but laugh and nod. "She does talk a whole lot. When I first met her, she didn't talk too much but when she got comfortable, there was no shutting her up."

"She said you met at her college. Did you go to college with her?" He took the hammer off the table and smiled. "This is heavy."

"No, I was at her college for a party and met her that way." Jax shrugged. "It's heavy so you can hit the nail and it'll stay. We can't have the office falling down on Noelle or your little sister. It's our job to protect them always."

Abel mimicked Jax and gripped the hammer by the head. "Did you go to college or only her? She said college is fun."

"I didn't go to college. I just got a diploma and went to work at the garage and became a Son." Jax frowned and rubbed his brow. "College is fun though, I had fun visiting her at college and going to the parties she was invited to. I even used to watch her do her homework and found it fascinating. I wish I would have gone to college but I got caught up in the life of being a Son and Gemma wanted me to follow in my dad's footsteps so I did."

"I don't want to be a Son. I want to be a pilot and told me I'll grow up and be a Son but I want to fly all over the world!" Abel made airplane wings with his arms and smiled. "I'm going to be awesome at it!"

The man smiled proudly. "Don't let anyone make you become anything that you don't want to be. If you want to be a pilot and a builder, then I support you Abel. Be what you want to be and not what your grandma wants you to do. I think you'd make an amazing pilot, you can give the rest of us rides."

"Grandma said you'll be mad if I don't be like you." Abel paused in the living room as he watched Jax open the door to let the builders inside.

"I won't be mad, if you want to do your own thing, do so. I will talk to her about trying to make you join the club. It's not all fun and games, I think you'll have fun doing what you want and being your own person. Don't ever listen to her if she tells you not to leave Charming and be a Son. You want to leave and go to the Air Force, then do it. Grandpa JT was in the military, so was Piney, it's a good place." Jax nodded.

"I'm gonna be a pilot then. I'm going to take you, Nelly, and Noe to Japan to eat sushi and so Noe can meet Hello Kitty!" Abel marched out into the backyard. "Let's get this built and then we can paint it!"

 **SOA**

"I think they'll love it." Abel crossed his arms and looked at the newly built office space. "It's perfect for them."

Jax nodded. "It does look good, you did an amazing job. I know you'll be a good builder when you're older and can actually use power tools." He smiled down at his son, feeling proud that they spend the day talking and joking with each other. He had learned more about Abel than he thought he would. The questions and answers came easy to him, he let the guard he held drop and enjoyed the bonding.

"Dad, do you think I can stay here and just visit mommy? I like it better here, it's more fun." The blonde narrowed his eyes at the sliding glass doors.

"You are staying with us and just visiting her, that's why you have your own room." Jax smiled as the sliding glass doors opened. "I guess we're about to find out if Noe likes her new arts and craft room."

Noelle stopped in front of the building. "I love it!" She hugged Jax before hugging Abel. "You two did amazing! I love this color, who picked it out?"

"I did!" Abel wrapped his limbs around the brunette and smiled as she kissed his cheeks. "I told you she'd like this color blue dad."

"I love it." The brunette smiled. "You did a good job my love." She set Abel back to the ground and grabbed his hand. "So, are you two going to give me a grand tour or what?"

"Where's Janelle?" Jax smiled down at Noelle before kissing her forehead. "You finally take her back to the store and get a refund?"

Noelle rolled her eyes. "She's asleep in her room, she got a fever towards the end of the day and I gave her some medicine and she knocked out on the ride home. I'm hoping that if she's sick with a cold that we can contain it to just her and that Abel won't catch it too."

"You'll be the one who catches it, when you get sick, you get _sick_." Jax wrapped his arms around the beauty as they walked into her new space. "So, do you love it? It took us forever to build. We did all the work."

Abel nodded. "We even put all the supplies away, you have a lot of stuff."

"It's so perfect. I love it." Noelle nodded. "You guys are amazing to me. What would I do without the two of you spoiling me like this?"

"Probably be off being spoiled by someone else." Jax pulled her back into a hug. "So, earlier you promised dinner, did you bring us food? We're starving."

The brunette nodded. "Pizza and take out in the kitchen. I figured you two would be hungry after a long day of working and bonding." She leaned into Jax as they walked back into the house. "So, did you answer his questions and talk?"

"We talked, we bonded, we joked around and painted the office." He shrugged as he watched Abel wash his hands. "I had fun, it was a great day, the type of day I wish I would of had with my own dad. It really got me thinking though, I think it's time for me to leave the club."

"Okay, wow. I need to let that soak in for a little while. I know you've brought it up before but are you really serious about it this time?" Noelle looked up at Jax, her brows creased as she studied his face.

Jackson smiled. "Yeah, the club is in good standing. We can easily just leave it all behind, move to a different city if you wanted to. A bigger house, you can give me a few more kids. It'll be good for us. A new life for all of us."

The brunette smiled. "I'm all for this but I think your mom would rather murder you than to let you go babe. I do support you Jackson, if you want this, really want this, I'll help you. What do you have to do anyways to leave?"

"I'll handle everything, just start maybe looking for a place after the wedding and honeymoon." He pulled her back into a hug and smiled as he watched Abel. "I just want this family out before things can go crazy, it's pretty much now or never."


	5. Making Moves

Noelle moved through the house, her eyes half closed as she inched closer and closer to the fridge. She had been up most of the night, two sick kids cuddled up in bed with her, each taking turns coughing, crying and being just plain miserable. Now she needed a quick recharge, something to get her through the next few hours until Jax got back and could allow her to take a much needed nap. "Figures, they'd both get sick." She yawned and grabbed the juice from the fridge and set it on the counter. "I'll be next."

"You're way too pretty to be talking to yourself my dear." The voice pulled Noelle from her sleep induced mumbles. "Relax, Jax told me where the spare key was hidden."

The brunette shrugged. "Are you here to watch the two sick kids in my bed? I need a nap so damn bad, I've been up all night." She stared at the man as she poured juice into two sippy cups.

"No, I am just here to check on the three of you. Jax felt bad about having to leave for the day. I've never seen him care too much about leaving family behind. I grew up with him." He took a seat at the table and watched carefully as Noelle started to make coffee. "I'll take a cup."

"Opie, I don't know how much energy I have to put up with whatever it is you're trying to get at. Are you trying to be like his mom and say I'm pulling him away from the club because I'm not doing it at all." Noelle turned and looked at him.

Opie shook his head. "No, I know you're not pulling him away. He's doing that by himself but I don't have any problem with him potentially leaving the club. I wish I would have bowed out when I could, when I still had the support to leave it all behind."

She passed him a cup of coffee and sat down. "I love the idea of him being able to leave the club and leave Charming. I don't love the idea of the length Gemma may go to just to keep him from leaving the club and the city. I know it's not right for me to just jump to a conclusion that this attempt to make a move will end bloody but I can't help but think about how she may twist this idea and make it look like it was _my_ idea and not her son's. I have two kids to think about, if it comes down to it, if it's safer for him to just stay, then I'll be good with staying."

"You only have one kid. I get where you're coming from though, Gemma would put all of this shit on you. That's why you can't say a damn thing to her about it, neither can Jax. You guys keep it secret until the day you leave." He smirked at the brunette.

"I have _two_ kids. Abel is my son too. I'll protect that little boy just as much as I protect my little girl." Noelle crossed her arms and nodded. "I know. I just hope it works out and doesn't end bloody. I have to check on my loves, make yourself at home Opie."

"You have any liquor? I need this coffee to be stronger." He looked between his cup and Noelle.

She laughed. "Yeah, it's over in that cabinet… I guess it's better that you add liquor to yours and not a truckload of creamer and sugar like Jax does." She shook her head and walked towards her bedroom, hoping the two young children were still fast asleep.

"I hurt." Janelle grumbled as she sat up and looked at her mom.

"I know baby." Noelle picked the girl up and smiled. "I have juice for you, let's go cuddle on the sofa and watch cartoons."

"Juice." The sick brunette grabbed the sippy cup and smiled. "He's hurt." She wagged a finger at her older brother and frowned.

"He is." Noelle nodded and set the cup of juice on the nightstand. "We need to let him sleep so he'll feel better." She pressed her hand on Abel's forehead and smiled when he didn't have a fever. "Let's go watch these cartoons, I'm thinking we can watch Paw Patrol or Bubble Guppies, maybe some Dora."

"She didn't wanna stay asleep?" Opie looked at the two brunettes from his seat in the oversized leather recliner.

"She is in the mood to drink juice and cuddle." The older brunette shrugged as she sat down on the sofa and pulled a blanket over herself and her daughter. "It's only a matter of time before she falls back asleep and I can join her. Since you're here and can listen out for Abel."

He nodded. "You can take a nap, I probably won't leave until Jax comes home."

Noelle sighed and looked at Janelle. "She's already knocked out." She smiled and pushed the unruly curls out of her daughter's face. "This is my cue to take a nap right along with her, wake me up if Abel is too sick and starts being grumpy."

"Go to sleep, I know a thing or two about handling sick kids." Opie scoffed and watched Noelle for a moment before turning his attention back to the TV.

 **SOA**

Jax paused in the archway that lead into the living room, a smirk on his face as he took in the sight before him. Four sleeping forms scattered about the sofas. His eyes flickered between Opie who had a sleeping Janelle on his chest and Noelle who had Abel cuddled up next to her, snoring away. "Ope." He tapped his friend's shoulders. "Opie."

"I'm up." Opie looked up at Jax before looking down at the sleeping brunette. "Man, I didn't mean to fall asleep, Noelle put me to sleep." He chuckled as he moved Janelle to the sofa.

"You let her tell you a story huh?" Jax shook his head as he touched his daughter's face. "Thanks for staying with them, I know it's all safe for us but I hated leaving her alone with two sick kids."

The man smiled and nodded. "Her voice is calming, I would fall asleep in court if she were my lawyer and I listened to her."

Jax laughed. "Wait until you hear her sing, it'll knock you out for sure. I fell asleep when Janelle fell asleep because she'd sing and I could hear it over the baby monitor next to the bed."

"I never imagined you to be a family man Jax." Opie followed his friend out into the backyard, taking a seat. "Getting married again, kids, possibly leaving the club. You surprised me, I thought you'd be a lifer."

"I never thought it'd be this way either but something about this, about Noelle makes me want to give her and the kids an easier life. I did what I needed to for the club and I think it's time for me to move on and leave it for someone else to take over. It's not my legacy anymore." Jax shrugged and ran his hand over his head. "You're the only one who knows, I think I need to keep it that way, if Gemma catches wind of any of this, she'll be gunning for Noe and I can't have that happening."

"I understand, I was talking about this with Noelle earlier. Told her to keep it underwraps until the day of, so you can make a clean break and Gemma won't have a way to stop you all from leaving. What about Abel though? I know Wendy won't just let you up and leave with him." Opie looked at the building in the corner of the yard. "Cute shed."

"It's Noelle's office, she moved her stuff out for Abel to have the whole room for himself and so Abel and I had that build as her office space." Jax smiled. "Wendy won't have a real choice, I'm going to see a lawyer and get full custody of him, he's better off here with us than he is with Wendy and Gemma trying to control every situation with him."

"Jax." Noelle walked out into the backyard and smiled at her boyfriend before smiling at Opie. "You guys want any beers?"

Jax nodded slowly. "I thought you'd be asleep with the kids for the rest of the night babe."

"That was the plan but right now I feel awake and like I'm getting sick." The brunette shrugged. "I'll be right back with the drinks."

"We should all hide now, when she's sick. She's sick." He shook his head and smirked at his best friend.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Noelle passed the men a beer and smiled. "Listen out for the kids. I'm going to take a shower."

Jax nodded. "I'll be right back." He looked at Opie before walking into the house, easily closing the space between himself and Noelle. "A shower? Without me?" He pinned her against the wall by her hips and smirked down at her.

"I'd ask you to join me but you have company." The brunette bit her lip and shook her head.

He shrugged picking up the brunette and wrapping her legs around him. "Nothing he hasn't already heard or witnessed." He smirked as he walked her past the bathroom and into their bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him. "The shower can wait."

"Jax…" Noelle sighed as she was dropped onto the bed, watching the handsome man before her rid himself of his clothes quickly.

"Too sick for fun?" He moved closer to her, kissing her roughly before tugging her shirt over her head and tossing it away. "I want you…"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not too sick…"

He chuckled. "You're shy all of a sudden? Should I remind you of the time I fucked you on the roof of the clubhouse or in the dressing room of that dress store?" He smiled as he pushed her down onto the bed, his hands caressing her body as he began to kiss her. His tongue slipping into her mouth as he let his fingers come to rest on her lower stomach.

Noelle broke the kiss. "I'm not shy…" She lifted her lower body, allowing the man to easily tug her sweatpants and panties down her legs and toss them across the room. "I always want you Jackson. _Always._ "

Jax sighed as he ran his hand over her mound, his fingers becoming slick as he rubbed her folds slowly. "I can tell." He smirked as he positioned himself better before pushing his cock inside of her with one swift motion, not wanting to waste any time. He pinned her arms about her head as he started to slam into her, his aggression picking up with every quiet moan that escaped Noelle's lips.

"Jax!" She gripped his forearms as she rolled her hips to meet each of his thrusts.

He sucked on her neck roughly as he continued to pound into her, enjoying the feeling of being inside her. "Say it again." He growled against her neck.

"Jax!" She moaned once again, her nails digging into his shoulders as she continued to move her lower half in unison with him. "Fuck, it feels so damn good…" She mumbled as he picked up the speed of his movements.

He smirked and rolled them over, holding her to his chest as he bucked his hips into her swiftly, enjoying this new angle. "Who does this pussy belong to?" He slipped a hand between them, rubbing her pussy slowly as he continued to fuck her. "Huh?"

"It belongs to you Jax." She let her head fall back, her hair sweeping across her lower back as she moved up and down his length as she squeezed and rubbed her own breasts. "God, you feel so fucking good babe."

Jax moved his hands over her hips as he watched her, seeing her like this always managed to work him up. "Get there babe." He smacked her ass and smiled as she let out a small yelp but picked up her pace, moving her hips in circles as she planted the palms of her hands on his chest.

"Always the gentleman." She dipped her head down and kissed his lips before trailing the tip of her tongue across his bottom lip as she moved backwards against him as she felt her orgasm start to build in her lower stomach.

"It's been awhile since I've been aggressive with you, I have to remind you that you're my little slut sometimes." He grabbed her face and kissed her roughly before pulling away and running a rough thumb over her now swollen lips. "Don't act like you don't love this Noelle…" He trailed a hand down her body and started to rub her clit in small circles.

Noelle sighed. "I love it." She moved her hips back and forth faster, feeling her climax start to rush over her as Jax grabbed her hips and held her tightly to him as he thrusted up into her quickly. "Fuck…" She pushed her hair out of her face as she started to shudder slightly as she tried her best to continue to move her hips.

Jax continued to slam into the brunette, his movements fast and precise as he started to feel his own orgasm pulse through him. His balls tightening as he pinned Noelle to him and picked up his pace slightly as he began to come. "Fuck babe." He grabbed her face and kissed her again as he slowed his movement until he was spent entirely. "We need to have a babysitter more often." He chuckled.

"So much for a shower, I don't even wanna leave bed. I'm tired." She kissed his neck and moved off him, wrapping the sheet around her body as she looked at him. "You should go relieve Opie of his duties and come back to bed."

He smiled and nodded. "Or we can go again and hope the kids stay asleep because I wanna use that paddle on you." He yanked the sheet off her and pulled her back to him.

Noelle shook her head. "I think you need to save that damn paddle for the wedding night. When we're all alone and can be as loud as we wanna be. Now, go send Opie home and come back to me."

Jax groaned and rolled off the bed, quickly pulling on a pair of boxers and grey sweatpants. "I'll be right back." He leaned over and kissed the brunette before moving out of the bedroom and through the living room. "Ope."

"You couldn't have waited until later?" Opie shook his head as he looked at his best friend. "Your be right back took forever."

The blonde shrugged. "She needed some assistance and who am I to deny her." He shook his head and smirked. "She told me to tell you that you could leave if you need to go handle your own business."

The large man nodded. "I just gotta head back to my mom's, see the kids. Spending time with these two made me miss my own spawns." He stood up and grabbed his kutte from the sofa. "I'll see you around man."

Jax smiled. "Thanks for keeping them company Ope… I appreciate it." He hugged his friend and before watching him pull open the front door. "If I leave, any chance you'll follow suit? We can always be neighbors."

Opie smirked. "I'll think about it."

He nodded slowly before locking up the house and picking up his daughter and carrying her to her bed. "Night darlin'." He kissed her head and watched her for a few moments before switching on the night light and walking back into the living room to grab Abel to take him to his room. "Night Abel." He kissed his son's head before backing out of the room and entering his own. "You still awake?"

"Yeah." Noelle looked at Jax and smiled. "I love you Jax."

"I love you too Noe." Jax dropped an arm over her chest and yawned. "I'm thinking we should move to Oregon or Colorado… I think I need to live in a city where the seasons actually change."

"I'll move wherever you go babe." The brunette rubbed his back slowly. "I'll look into some places."

"Good, don't stress about it too much. I'll help you look babe." He closed his eyes, picturing himself trying to live a normal, legal life and smiled. "You think I can own a shop? I may not be the best mechanic but I can scrape by."

Noelle nodded. "I think you should do something you actually want to do, maybe you can write a book or something. Maybe take a class at a community college, see what you were missing out on."

Jax laughed. "I'll think about that… I could always mooch off you and get fat. You'll be the breadwinner for a little while."

"You? Fat? I don't think that's possible baby." She giggled and shook her head. "You could be a stay at home dad… We shouldn't jump too far ahead of ourselves, we still have to deal with the wedding, custody of Abel and you announcing to the club that you're leaving."

"I'm making the right moves." He kissed her forehead. "I'm handling everything on my end, you just need to find a house you see yourself living in. Make a trip to it if you need to, make it look like a weekend trip with your mom and the kids."

"I trust you Jackson." Noelle smiled at him. "I'll do what I need to."

Jax smiled, feeling a little more relaxed. He had high hopes of this plan falling into place and working out for his family. He no longer wanted to be an outlaw, he no longer wanted this life for himself or his kids. He just wanted out of Charming and he was going to be meticulous about how he went about it. He just couldn't have his mom catching wind of it.

* * *

 **Sorry about the delay in update. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. (:**


	6. Mommy

**Let's start stirring up some drama. (: After all, no story is complete without a little bit...**

* * *

Noelle smiled as she held Abel and Janelle's hands and walked into the clubhouse. Happy that they were both feeling better and up to wandering out of the house. "I think your mom is around here somewhere Abel." The brunette scanned the room before pointing towards the sofas. "Ah, I found her."

Abel nodded but only tightened his grip on her hand. "Can Nelly come to?"

"Sure, she can go over there with you." The brunette smiled and watched Abel grab his sister's hand and begin to walk over towards Wendy and Gemma.

"What're you three doing here?" Jax grinned at Noelle. "They feeling better?"

"Yup, they wanted to venture out into the world and I thought, why not just bring them to the clubhouse to terrorize the place?" She let him pull her towards the bar. "Wendy is looking a little better than before but shouldn't she actually be in a facility?"

He shrugged and watched the two kids interact with Gemma and Wendy. "Nah, we want to keep an eye on her. Gemma and Tara have been giving her the treatments she would get at a rehab anyway."

Noelle nodded. "I want to take them with me to the camera shop… I want a new one so I can take lots more pictures of them together. I also want to buy those polaroid cameras for each table at the wedding reception. It'll be a fun thing."

Jax groaned. "I don't know why you can't just have a simple wedding… The guests don't need to take pictures, you hired a photographer."

"Babe, I'm not making these memories for us. They're for the kids, I mean they can look back at all the pictures and be like wow, mom looked so good." She laughed and shrugged. "It's not even that big of a wedding. It's like almost intimate."

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. "I think intimate flew out the window when you told me I could invite who I wanted… This is going to be a full out party now."

"Oh lots of interesting characters… The wedding album is going to be so amazing to flip through in the future." Noelle smiled as Janelle came running to them.

"Jesus fucking Christ." Janelle looked up at Jax before looking back to Abel. "I want juice!"

Jax bit back a laugh as he looked at the tiny brunette. "Hey, what'd I tell you about saying that word Janelle?"

"Jesus Christ!" She threw her hands in the air and looked at him. "I want juice!"

"I'll get you some juice darlin'." He picked her up and looked at Noelle and grinned. "It's too cute not to laugh, I'm sorry…"

Noelle shook her head. "Don't encourage that Jax, teach her a new phrase, how about you get her to say darlin' or something two year olds should say?"

"I tried, she can't say fairytale yet." Jax looked at Janelle. "We'll keep working on it… You want some juice too Noe?"

"No. I'm fine. I'm gonna see if Happy is around here." The brunette smiled and watched the pair stroll off into the small kitchen before heading out into the garage. "Hey, hey, hey." She sat down on the small stool and watched Happy as he worked under the hood of a Honda.

Happy paused to look at the brunette. "What brings you out here?"

"Need to talk to you about some things… I can't do it here but I wanted to see if you had time one day to grab lunch and talk." Noelle spun around on the stool and moved towards him. "It's _very_ important."

He set down his tools and wiped his hands on the towel hanging from his waistband. "You pregnant again?"

"No… It's something serious." She shook her head and shrugged. "It's not pregnancy related at all. Plus, if I was pregnant I wouldn't be trying to talk to you about it away from the club and prying ears."

"You would be if you were knocked up by someone other than Jax." He smirked as he started putting his tools away. "Give me ten minutes and we can go somewhere else and talk… I'll drive your cage."

Noelle smiled and nodded. "I'll be outside by the cage… The very expensive one that you just insulted by calling it a cage… Be nice to it." She laughed.

Happy shook his head. "I'd put you on the back of the Dyna but it's missing it's bitch seat." He tossed his rag at her. "Listen to me, go wait outside by the cage."

"Okay _dad_." The brunette rolled her eyes at him before walking out and waiting by her car.

"I was expecting to see some girly ass cage like your mom's." He smirked and took the keys from her and got in. "Where are we going to talk?"

Noelle ran her fingers through her hair and shrugged as she rested her feet on the dashboard. "I don't know, a park maybe? Or do you wanna eat? I can do either. I just need to talk to you because you have that quality to voice an opinion…"

"I don't see why we had to leave… Is it club related shit or something?" He looked at her quickly before turning his focus back on the road.

She nodded. "Jax is going to try to leave the club. We have plans to move after the wedding and we're trying our best to keep Gemma from finding out before we have the chance to actually execute the plan." She sighed and looked at him and frowned. "Tell me it's not a death mission. Tell me it can happen and won't end bloody."

Happy shook his head and pulled the car into the first gas station he saw. "I'm going to tell you something Noelle… Gemma's not going to let Jax go or Abel go. I know you guys want a clean break to live a life somewhere away from this life but if Gemma finds out, it's not going to happen. She's going to come after you regardless if it's not your idea. She damn near died when Tara and Jax talked about leaving Charming together. Could you imagine if you two took off with **SOA** her grandkids? You're going to end up dead."

Noelle nodded and frowned. "That's what I was thinking. I'll be damned if I became a casualty of Gemma's unhealthy obsession with her son. I wouldn't be good with leaving Abel or Janelle in the hands and influence of her. I don't know what to do about it."

He ran a hand down his face. "I'll do my best to help you guys out but the first sign of trouble, I want you to promise me, that you'll come to me and stop the plan all together. Trying to leave this life isn't worth losing your life over. I can't protect you every moment from Gemma but I'll try my best to."

The brunette sighed. "I promise you, I'll find you if anything starts going south. I do know something though, if anything is to happen. I want you and my mom to look after Janelle until Melody can get to town and take her. I don't want her left with Jax and Gemma. I need her to actually be taught shit other than the life of being an old lady and I know that Melody will be able to care for her the best despite being Kozik's old lady. She has a lot of good shit going for her."

Happy nodded and hugged the young woman. "You still treating me to lunch right? Or am I treating you?"

"I'll treat you to lunch." She laughed and pulled her seat belt back on. "I'll let you buy the most expensive happy meal Mcdonald's has." She laughed at her own bad joke as she watched him scowl at her.

"I'm going to let that slide because I'm hungry." He shrugged. "We're not going to McDonald's though… I want actual food, not that fake shit they're selling to the masses."

Noelle smiled. "Let's get some good ol' Mexican food. I could use some enchiladas and horchata."

Happy smirked. "Mexican it is, I know just the place too."

 **SOA**

Noelle yawned as she walked back into the clubhouse. She was stuffed and tired, the trip to Happy's Ma's house was unexpected but lovely. The food was even more delicious and as always she was sent home with a lot of leftovers. As she let her mind wander elsewhere she wasn't expecting two little kids running towards her at full speed until they latched onto her legs. "My loves!" She smiled down at Abel and Janelle. "I missed you guys!"

"Mommy!" Janelle held her arms in the air and squealed when she was picked up. "I got some juice."

"Don't you always my dear?" The brunette took a sip and smiled. "I see you have a new better flavored juice. How are you Abel? You look tired?" She set Janelle back to the floor and picked up the older boy and kissed his forehead.

Abel nodded. "I'm so sleepy." He nuzzled against her and yawned. "Where'd you go?"

"I went to eat with Happy. It took longer than expected." She sat on the sofa and rubbed Abel's back slowly. "Did you have fun hanging out with your mom and Gemma?"

"No." He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "I just wanted to hang out with you and color. They didn't have coloring books."

Noelle chuckled. "Next time we'll bring you some. Then you'll always be able to draw and color wherever you go."

"Hey." Wendy looked at her son and the brunette. "I just wanted to tell him bye."

The brunette nodded and smiled. "Abel, your mom wants to tell you bye, you can tell her bye then we can head home and put you to bed. He's so worn out must've had a fun time with you and Gemma."

"I don't wanna mommy." He wrapped his arms around Noelle tighter. "I don't wanna, I'm sleepy."

Noelle winced as she looked at Wendy. "I'm sorry." She looked down at Abel and shrugged. "Come on love, you have to say bye to her."

"Bye." Abel waved but didn't bother to look at her.

"Great." Wendy frowned and backed away from the sofa. "That's just brilliant. You've already replaced me and I'm not even out of the picture yet!"

"I think you need to keep your voice down and not yell. Abel is falling asleep." The brunette shook her head and stood up. "I'm not trying to replace you, I would have you know I do think of Abel as my own son but I'm in no way trying to replace you Wendy."

The blonde shook her head. "Gemma was right about you. You are trying to get me out of the picture and keep Abel for yourself."

Noelle stood up the best she could with Abel still attached to her. "I'm not trying to do a goddamn thing! What would Gemma know anyway? She doesn't even talk to me about a damn thing. If you have an issue, go talk to Jax."

"What's going on?" Jax swaggered over to the woman, noticing their posture. "What happened now?"

Wendy glared at him. "Abel called _her_ mommy."

"He's sleepy! He probably didn't even realize what he said." The brunette whispered, allowing Abel to be taken from her by Jax. "It's not a big deal and she's trying to blow it out of proportion because she's so warped by Gemma…"

He laid his son on the sofa and looked at both women. "Let's take this talk outside. I don't want this turning into some bullshit screaming match and waking him up. He doesn't need to be around any damn arguing." He touched Noelle's lower back and started to walk with her towards the door a few steps behind Wendy. "What exactly did he say?"

"He just said, 'I don't wanna mommy'." Noelle whispered back. "It wasn't a big deal at all until she said some shit about how Gemma said I'm trying to get her out of the picture. I'm not trying to take Abel away from her…"

Jax nodded as he pulled her into a quick hug. "Don't feel bad about it… It's not your fault he sees you as mommy." He kissed her forehead before pushing open the door and allowing her to exit the clubhouse ahead of him. "You didn't need to get my mom involved Wendy. This is all easily settled between the three of us."

"I knew you were up to know good." Gemma pointed a finger at Noelle and shook her head. "I told Wendy that from the jump. You'd try to be that boy's mom."

"Someone needs to look out for him." Jax stepped between his mom and Noelle. "I don't see Wendy looking out for him, from what Abel tells me. She's more into hanging out with her friends than playing with him at all. You're not doing a good job with him either."

"I don't want her around Abel." Wendy crossed her arms and looked at the couple. "I'm almost finished with the outpatient program, I'll be taking him back as soon as I get my certificate."

He shook his head and gritted his teeth as he stared at her. "Over my dead body… He's not going back with you. You really fucking think you're stable enough to raise him? Do you fucking think your house is a place for a child?"

"She's moving in with me." Gemma looked at her son. "You can't keep a child from his mother Jackson. It's not right."

Jax backed his mom up against the picnic table. "I'll keep _my_ kid away from the junkie and from you. Sit back and watch me, he's not going home with either of you any time soon. I'll give you the news now, I'm going to get full custody of Abel. I don't care how much time or money it takes but it's going to fucking happen. I'm not letting either of you screw that kid up!"

"You can't do that Jax!" Wendy looked at him only to have him turn his glare on her. "He's my son too."

"I don't give a fuck." He shook his head and turned his body towards her. "That's my kid and I'll be damned if I let him stay around you and your junkie friends. Expect the paperwork to be coming your way soon. Noelle, go wait in the car. I'll grab the kids."

"Alright." Noelle nodded and started towards the car.

"I bet you think you've done something." Gemma looked at the young woman and spat. "You haven't done a thing. That little boy is not going to live with you full time. I'll make sure of it."

The brunette shrugged. "Do your worst Gemma. You know there's not stopping Jax when he puts his mind to something. I'd love to see you come in the way of him and his son." She turned back and continued to her car, climbing in as she stared towards the clubhouse a smiled on her face as she saw Jax carrying Abel and Janelle with ease.

"Why are you smiling?" Jax frowned at the gorgeous woman. "You slap one of them while I was grabbing the kids?"

Noelle shook her head. "No, it just makes me happy when you get all aggressive and protective of your family. It's been awhile since I've seen you like that Jackson."

He chuckled and kissed her. "You know how I am when it comes to the three of you. I'm not letting anything harm you guys. I'm especially not going to stand around and let those two accuse you of shit you're not even doing."

"Why does it feel like I just tossed a match into a dry field?" She shook her head and looked towards the clubhouse.

Jax sighed. "It's up to us if we let that field burn or put it out." He rubbed her thigh as he pulled off the lot.

* * *

 **Let me know what you thought and if you have any predictions. (:**


	7. Darlin'

"Come on, say it Janelle." Jax looked at his daughter and smirked. "Darlin'. Darlin'." He frowned as she shook her head side to side. "You can say Jesus Christ but not darlin'? Your mommy wants you to say cute words!"

Janelle just blinked at him as she drank her juice. "Juice!"

He sighed. "I know, you love juice more than you love me!"

"No!" She shouted and pushed her juice towards him. "Drink!"

"She knows way more words then she wants you to think she does. She talks Abel's ear off all the time with her babble. I know for a fact she can she home, come on, stop, stupid, dinosaur, and whatever else she feels like repeating." Noelle sat in the recliner, pulling her shirt over her knees as she stared at the pair on the sofa.

He laughed. "I figured she was faking it… Come on no Nelly, say darlin'."

"No!" Janelle scooted off his lap and bolted to her mom. "Mommy!"

The brunette picked up her daughter and smiled. "What's wrong? You don't wanna be like your daddy and say darlin'? I don't think I blame ya, only he seems to be able to pull it off."

"Darlin'." The tiny brunette laughed and looked at her dad. "Now, juice!" She tossed her cup at him and clapped her hands.

Noelle laughed. "Well you got what you wanted… She said darlin'."

"She's slick." Jax stood up from the sofa. "I'll get you some juice this time but next time you throw your cup, I'm not doing a damn thing."

"We have to talk when you return! Also, bring me some of the brownies I baked last night! I am stressed and need chocolate in my life right now." She looked to Janelle and stuck her tongue out at her. "Why aren't you napping like Abel is? You're going to be cranky because I'm not gonna let you sleep later."

"I let her skip nap time. She wasn't going down easy and I didn't wanna wake you up. I didn't think it'd be that much work to get her to nap." He passed Noelle the plate of brownies and Nelly the sippy cup. "What did you wanna talk about?"

"The fact that it's been nearly a week since the whole clubhouse blow up and we haven't heard a single thing from Gemma or Wendy." She bit into a brownie before reclining the chair. "I know we have our paperwork being drawn up but what if they get their own?"

"Let 'em." Jax shrugged. "It's nothing that we can't handle in court if we have to. I just want them to know I want Abel and I'm going to do what's best for him. I may not have been there the first three years but it wasn't my fault because I didn't even know she was pregnant when we divorced. I just want him in a steady and safe environment and I don't think Wendy or Gemma can offer that to him."

Noelle nodded. "I think we need to see what else we need that can possibly speed up the process. We already have established you as the father when you took that DNA test so we shouldn't need another one, then I think we should see if we can settle out of court maybe give her one day to see him but only if it's supervised."

He shook his head. "All or nothing especially if we're leaving. Are you having second thoughts about it babe?"

"No. I'm just saying we can make a temporary compromise, if she fucks up you have further proof to bring to the case…" She sighed. "I just want to make this quick and easy, I've seen custody battles get so nasty. You do realize Gemma is probably going to come after me like I did this shit? I don't want that happening Jax. I can't promise you that I won't try to hurt her first if she comes after me…"

"Time to holster up again." Jax pulled her from the recliner and sat down before pulling her into his lap. "I have this handled. I have been talking to your mom and she's been a huge help. I already know Lowen will be working for Wendy and Gemma, so just let me handle this and if we have to we'll send you and the kids up to Tacoma to bug Kozik and Melody until shit is handled here."

Noelle frowned. "I don't wanna carry around a gun, I think you carry around enough for the both of us. I don't want to leave my home either Jackson. I just want this shit done and over with."

"I promise you, I'll have it handled. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He hugged her tightly against him. "Who else am I gonna have as my wife?"

The brunette shrugged. "No one because if I died and you as so much looked at another woman, my ghost would haunt your ass."

Jax laughed. "I don't doubt that at all babe…" He squeezed her sides. "Look the little darlin' fell asleep cuddling her juice."

"She plays you so much it hurts to watch." Noelle smiled. "She talks when she wants to but gets all quiet when you're around because she knows you like doing all the talking when you two are together. She's a smart kid."

"Makes sense… I hear her talking to everyone but me." He closed his eyes and yawned. "I'm taking a nap. I don't have shit to do."

She cleared her throat and poked his forehead. "Umm, you need to go talk to my mom and you still need to do the final fitting of your tux."

"So demanding." He held her and stood up. "I'll go to the fitting if you come with me and wear one of those little dresses…"

"If it gets you to to complete it then I'm all for it." Noelle kissed him. "I'll schedule your fitting."

"How many weeks until you become the awkwardly named Noelle Teller?" Jax walked them towards the bedroom and smirked. "Mrs. Teller."

She laughed. "We have three short weeks."

"Can't wait to see what type of shit my mom tries to pull on that day." He laid on the bed with her still wrapped around him. "Do you remember the first time we actually admitted our feelings to each other?"

Noelle nodded slowly. "We were both drunk and sitting on the docks sharing a bottle of Jack." She laughed and settled against his side. "One of our best nights together."

"Until you almost fell into the water… Neither of us would have made it back out of the ocean alive." Jax squeezed her thighs and smirked. "It was a good night though."

"Best night, hands down was the first night we had Janelle home… She was kind of like a terror but I loved her." She laughed and closed her eyes. "You, being a family man is my favorite version of you. The aggressive side is sexy but the way you just chill out to hang out with all of us is the most attractive thing ever. Mostly because it was unexpected, like I never thought of you having this side to you."

He chuckled softly. "I knew I was in trouble the day I couldn't reach you at all and I show up to your place and you were curled into a ball with kleenex and medicine all around you. You were knocked out from taking Nyquil instead of Dayquil."

Noelle laughed. "What? I took it so I could sleep and not be sick and miserable. I'm a horrible whiny sick person. You know that!"

He nodded. "I do know but I also realized that I felt like I wanted and needed to take care of you. It was bad."

"Mmmm. I love you." She settled further into his side. "I think you should get me wings and pizza for a snack because I'm hungry but not too hungry."

Jax smirked. "I love you too and I'll see what I can do right after I see your mom. She just sent a text asking to meet." He angled his phone to the brunette. "I'll be back."

 **SOA**

"Mom." Jax smiled as he swaggered over to Blair. "How are you?"

Blair rolled her eyes. "I'm good. How are you Jax?"

"Good, good." He took a seat across from her, sliding his sunglasses up his face to rest on his head. "Just hoping we have good news about the progress of the custody case."

"I have all the paperwork done, it was served to Miss Case about an hour ago." The blonde slid a copy of the paperwork to Jax. "Everything you wanted is in there, just like we've talked about. The only thing that I would see that would be needed again is the DNA test if Miss Case appeals and wants to handle this in court then the judge will order another test."

He nodded as he read over the papers. "That's fine, I'm hoping she won't make a big deal about this since she hasn't even been taking care of Abel properly. Noe's been doing all the mom duties for him. School, doctor appointments, all of it."

Blair smiled. "That's a keypoint that we've highlighted, Wendy is an unfit mother. I don't think any judge would give her the child when she can't care properly for herself. I've also taken into account the idea of your mother being the one to go against you for custody. She seems like the type… No offense."

Jax looked up at Blair, realizing she had just hit a point that he hadn't even thought about. "How'd that work? She'd try to prove that we're unfit to raise him?"

"She could bring up your criminal past, try to work it from that angle but I don't think we have a problem with that. You've been working in the garage, so you have that legal income and then there is Noelle, so no one could say you've use dirty money to purchase anything. It all would appear as if you used the money from her fund for everything." She looked down at her file and nodded. "There's always a more extreme way of knocking Gemma out. You have kept your nose clean for the past few years, she has too but if she wore to assault someone or what have you. It'd lessen her case as well."

"I'm not sending Noelle up against gemma, we'll have to let this shit play out. The last thing I want is Gemma losing her temper and beating the shit out of Noelle or Noelle killing gemma and ending up in jail." He shook his head and sighed. "We'll just let it play out, doubt she'd file against me anyway."

Blair nodded. "I wasn't suggesting for Noelle to go up against Gemma… I wouldn't put my daughter in harms way like that. I'll be waiting for the paperwork and I'll be contacting you if they do indeed file their own custody papers. I have to ask though, why are you just now seeking out full custody?"

"It's simple darlin', I want my son to have the same quality as life as my daughter does." Jax flashed her a lopsided grin. "We done here?"

"Yeah, we're done here." She slid her files into her briefcase. "I hope this works out without too much drama. Custody battles can get real nasty."

* * *

Wendy looked at the paperwork as she sat in the office with Gemma, it had been two hours since she was served and all she could think about was the threat of losing her son. "I can't believe this shit Gemma, you told me this would never be a problem!"

Gemma rolled her eyes and leaned forward. "It wouldn't have been a damn problem if you weren't a damn junkie." She shook her head and snatched the papers from the blonde and started to look over them. "Noelle's mom is the lawyer, you think that's some weird coincidence? Noelle is trying to take Abel not Jax."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "I think you're paranoid Gem, Noelle isn't that diabolical, she's not even that smart." She grabbed the papers back and rubbed her forehead. "I can't lose Abel and we can't let this shit get dragged into court, that's expensive. I don't have money to take this shit and fight in court."

"I don't want my Abel with that bitch." The older woman shook her head as she turned to look at the garage. "I'll talk to Jax." She stood up, surprised to see her son here and not at home with Noelle. "Jax."

Jax sucked his teeth and slowly turned to face Gemma. "What do you need now?"

She crossed her arms and looked at him. "You really gonna take my grandson from me? Wendy showed me the papers."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm glad she got the papers and I'm not taking him from you… I'm taking Abel from the _both_ of you. You're delusional and his mom is a junky. Does it make sense to allow the two of you to stay in his life and turn him against Noelle, the woman who takes him to and from school and anything else he needs be at? If you would stop your fucking mission to get Noelle out of the picture then I'd be a lot more inclined to let you see both kids more often. You're doing this shit to yourself, open your eyes, no one is against you. You're against everyone else Gemma. Get your shit together and then you'll have a family."

Gemma stared at him for a moment before resting her hands on her hips. "I won't let you take that boy away from me Jackson. I won't let him call that little bitch mommy either."

He shook his head. "You don't have a fucking choice, you go near Noelle and I'll put a bullet in your head my damn self. You do anything to her and you'll be dead." He backed her into a wall and shrugged. "Keep your fucking distance from _my_ family with your warped reality. You're just as fucked up as Wendy."

She looked at him. "You really think the court will award full custody to an outlaw?"

Jax wrapped a hand around her neck. "You really think me being an outlaw affects the way I can parent? I'm doing a pretty damn good job, which is more than I can say about you and your parenting skills." He tightened his hand and looked at her sideways. "Like I said before, keep your fucking distance or I'll put a bullet in your head." He reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone and shook his head. "You're going to have to try a lot fucking harder to get shit to blackmail me on Gemma… I know all your bullshit tricks." He searched the rest of her pockets before looking towards the office. "Tell Wendy it'll be best if she signs those papers." He pushed her way and swaggered out of the garage, his anger surging through his body.

* * *

 **There is he, that aggressive Jax. lol He's my favorite type of write. lol**

 **anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	8. Threatening Illusions

Noelle smiled as she threw her arms around her baby sister and squeezed her tightly, slightly lifting her off the ground. "Melo! I missed you!" She held her sister away from her body and scanned her over. "Tacoma has been good to you!"

Melody laughed and nodded. "Very good! I'm excited to be back in Charming though!" She hugged her sister once more before looking back towards Kozik who was doling out a round of hugs to his brothers. "I can't believe the wedding is creeping up on us! I'm too excited for the final dress fitting. Where are my babies at?"

The brunette pointed towards her car. "I just got here five minutes ago, just to make sure we got to see you arrive… We're dealing with some shit with crazy ass Gemma." She shook her head and pulled open the car door to see both kids fast asleep. "She's using Jax's ex Wendy to try to push me out the picture. She doesn't get that I'm here to stay. She also thinks I'm trying to put a plan in action to keep her away from Abel."

Melody shook her head as she admired her niece's profile. "She's so damn perfect. I swear she is." She closed the car door and sighed. "I don't get it though, she's using this Wendy chick for what purpose? Just to have some control over a situation? She's fucking psycho. I knew we should have pushed her off the roof of the clubhouse or some shit."

Noelle nodded. "She is using Wendy for Abel, she knows she can easily control Wendy and the situation but what she didn't take into account was Abel. He's five he doesn't keep secrets, he told me that Gemma told him that I didn't love him. The thing that has her panties all in a bunch right now is the fact Abel called me mommy in front of Wendy. She has Wendy believing that I'm out to take Abel away and kick her out of the picture. Jax is seeking full custody though, mom thinks Gemma may do something drastic and come after me. She wants to bait Gemma into committing assault so she wouldn't be able to get custody of Abel."

"Damn." Melody ran her fingers through her hair and looked towards the clubhouse. "I'll bait Gemma into it. I don't mind taking a hit if it's for a good fucking cause. I hate that bitch and if she's trying to paint you as a villain, that's even more reason for her ass to be out of the picture."

"Talk about it with Jax, I'm trying to stay as distant from this whole mess as I can. I have Sons sleeping on the sofa in case Gemma tries some sneaky bullshit." The brunette sighed. "It's annoying as hell, I just want to focus on my wedding and here Gemma is, trying to stir up nonexistent drama. I'm pretty sure she's delusional and needs professional help and not just all that weed she smokes."

Melody nodded and wrapped her arms around her sister. "I think if anything starts going south this whole club will protect you. Gemma may be the ex old lady of two very dead Sons but you're the soon to be wife of the current president. Jax will lay his life on the line to protect you and the kids. I think if push comes to shove, he'll kill Gemma before she even has the chance to harm a hair on your head."

Noelle nodded. "It shouldn't even be this big of a mess, I don't even know why she continues to fight this change. She's so fucking obsessed with having control over Jax and everyone around him. She's a manipulative bitch, I can't believe I ever considered giving her a chance." She sighed and opened the driver's side door. "I'm going to head over to my mom's, do you want to come with or are you sticking around here?"

"I'm going to stick around here." Melody hugged Noelle and kissed her cheek. "Drive safely… I do want to know, which Sons are camping out in your house?"

The brunette laughed as she slipped into her seat. "Happy and Opie." She closed the door and rolled down the window. "Be safe Melo."

Melody watched the car drive away before turning around and walking to the group of men drinking and laughing. "Jax, can I talk to you?" She grabbed his arm and tugged him away from the group without him even giving her an answer. "I want to help with anything that I'm able to, just tell me."

Jax sipped his beer and looked at her. "I have everything under control."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Is that why you have two Sons taking shifts and watching her? I saw Happy pull out behind her."

He groaned. "I'm just taking precaution to keep her and the kids safe. I trust Happy and Opie to protect her with their lives… I'm just waiting for Wendy to sign the papers and we're good, I'm concerned my mom may try some shit though. She's losing her damn mind."

Melody nodded. "You know what the best thing about this sister thing is?" She smirked and tied her hair back of her face. "I look a lot like Noelle when it's called for."

"I can tell." Jax shook his head and smirked. "I don't know what you can do but I know Noe would kill me if I sent you up against my mom."

She shrugged. "I don't have to go against her. It just has to seem that way. You just said she's losing her mind, right? We get Noelle somewhere safe, Gemma is still around here and we create the illusion of Noelle being here and causing trouble, Gemma freaks and you can easily have her taken in for a psych eval, it's a mandatory three day hold. She'll claim that it was Noelle around here and Noelle will be off with the kids."

"I love the way you think but I'll have to think it over." He rubbed his beard and pulled on her ponytail. "You should just relax for the moment." He looked around, spotting his mom glaring from the doorway of the office.

Melody smirked. "See, it's working already."

Jax nodded. "That it is but still, we have to talk this over with Noe first and Koz." He gestured to the blonde. "Go be an Old Lady and make sure he's taken care of." He watched her walk off towards Kozik, knowing exactly how he was going to utilize the fact that the two sisters looked a lot alike.

 **SOA**

"Happy!" Janelle climbed over her mom to get to the man sitting next to her. "Happy! Happy! Happy!" The two year old giggled and smiled as she dropped into the man's lap and looked up at him, her brows knit in concentration. "Happy!"

Noelle smirked and shook her head. "Babygirl you need to leave that man alone! He's sleepy."

"Happy?" Janelle placed a tiny hand on each of his cheeks and giggled. "You want juice?" She dropped one hand and pointed to her sippy cup sitting on the coffee table.

"No." Happy shook his head and stared down at the little girl. "You want juice?" He cocked an eyebrow at her and watched her slowly shake her head. "What do you want then?"

The brunette looked at him, a confused expression on her face as she looked to her mom. "I want doggy!"

"See! She wants a doggy!" Noelle laughed and looked at Happy. "What're you going to do now?"

He shrugged. "I'll let you hang out with my dog." He stuck his tongue out at Noelle. "Problem solved."

"No! I want a doggy!" Janelle crossed her arms. "Doggy! Doggy! Doggy!"

Happy groaned. "No. You can't have your own dog." He felt bad as soon as he saw her bottom lip begin to quiver. "No, crying…" He watched her move off his lap and to Noelle.

"It's okay." Noelle stroked the little girl's hair before looking to Happy. "She'll forget about it and find something new to want… Probably juice." She shrugged and kissed her daughter's forehead. "You wanna take a nap for me babygirl?" She smiled as the two year old rubbed her eyes and rested her head on her chest.

"You're good with both kids." Happy looked at Noelle. "I didn't think you'd be a mom this quickly though."

She shrugged. "Me either… I was dead set on being a lawyer. Things really do change fast." She smiled at him. "You really don't need to babysit me, I don't think I'm in any immediate danger Happy."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I got orders from my president and I'm going to take them seriously whether Gemma is coming after you now or not. Get used to it kid."

"What is life that I have to have bodyguards because my soon to be mother-in-law is a homicidal psycho who wants her son's dick?" Noelle scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Her obsession with Jax is a bit past just a caring mother."

Happy smirked and nodded. "We don't say much about it because Jax was a mama's boy for most of his life…"

"I tried to play nice with Gemma after Nelly was born and she wasn't having it after awhile. I mean she sought out Jax's ex wife." The brunette looked down at her sleeping daughter and sighed. "I will do anything to protect these two kids… Even if I have to start using my thigh holster again. I do miss it."

He shook his head. "You need something quicker than a thigh holster…" He stood up and took Janelle from her and laid her on the sofa. "Come on, I have an extra holster, I'll size it to your tiny ass."

"What's wrong with my thigh holster?" She followed him into the kitchen. "It's been good so far."

"That's for when you need to keep it concealed. You want this gun to be accessed as quick as possible, if Gemma draws on you, you're not going to be able to reach down and grab a gun. You're going to need it at your side even if you only pop her in the stomach." He pointed to his holsters and shrugged. "We also need you to get a gun with a little more power behind it."

"I did like that gun you let me borrow." Noelle picked up his gun and smiled. "Can't I just have this one?"

Happy grabbed his gun and groaned. "You need a registered gun so if you have to shoot her then you won't be in trouble for having an illegal weapon on you… You slept through that part of law class kid? Thought I raised you better than that." He smirked and shook his head.

"Then let's go gun shopping." She smiled and watched him remove a holster. "Do you still need to be fitted one last time for your suit? Or did Blair handle it already?"

"It's handled." He nodded. "Can't, not unless Jax has the kids." He looked back towards the living room. "Can't take those two to a gun shop."

Noelle scoffed. "They can hang out in a clubhouse with illegal weapons and activities but God forbid they get toted to a gun shop… I swear, I will murder everyone if Gemma gets into the wedding venue and tries some shit."

Happy ran a hand over his head. "We'll be doing all we can to keep her out."

She nodded. "I will be wearing my holster that day just in case… Garter on one leg gun on the other." She twisted her hair up into a loose bun. "I just want you to know that you need to keep an eye on Melody too… No telling what she'll end up doing in order to protect her family. She's out there and may get reckless."

He looked at her and slowly nodded. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to either of you. You're going to be protected and Melody is going to be protected from herself. I promise you that much, if shit happens, then we'll all shoot and make sure you don't get hit and that the kids get pulled away as fast as possible."

Noelle smiled and hugged him tightly. "This is good."

Happy rolled his eyes. "I'll never get used to you three being so touchy feely." He looked down at her. "My Ma will be at the wedding so we have to be extra proactive about everything. Don't need her having a heart attack."

She frowned. "Everyone better behave." She dropped her eyes to her hands and sighed. "I've been waiting for two years for this moment and I refuse to let it go down in smoke."

* * *

"Noe." Jax looked between the brunette and the suit hanging up in front of him. "What is this?" He touched the lapels and groaned. "I can't just wear a button up and slacks?"

Noelle shook her head as she adjusted the skirt of her dress. "Nope. I'm afraid that if I let up on the dress code now you'll show up in Nikes and a flannel." She grabbed the suit and pushed it towards him. "Try it on so we can get it fitting perfectly Jax."

He sighed and walked into the dressing room, quickly trading his normal layers for a set of more formal layers. "Shouldn't Abel be here? Getting a suit or something?" He walked out of the dressing room, rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt. "I like it better without the jacket."

"Whoa." The brunette smiled, her eyes scanning the man from head to toe. "Who would have thought that you'd be able to clean up this damn well babe!" She moved towards him and laced her fingers through his. "You look dashing."

"Someone once told me I should model." Jax shrugged and kissed her forehead. "I think I'm going to ditch that jacket though, sorry about it babe." He kissed her lips as he dropped her hands, moving his to her hips. "Think we can get away with a quickie?" He nodded slightly at the dressing room he had walked out of. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her towards the dressing room, ignoring her protests as he closed the door and pushed her dress up her legs.

"Jax." She whispered as she felt him start to push her panties to the side. "Fuck it…" She shook her head.

He smirked, moving a finger slowly up and down her slit before pushing a finger inside of her. "You're already wet, slut." He kissed her roughly as he added another finger, sliding them back and forth slowly. "You think you can stay quiet?" He pulled away from her and tugged his pants and boxers down.

Noelle shrugged, rubbing her hand over her mound as she watched him stroke his hard member. "I can try… You know how to shut me up if I get too loud." She dropped her hand from her body as he grabbed her hips, lifting her off her feet.

He nodded, directing his cock to her entrance, sliding it up and down before pushing into her quickly, his mouth on hers to keep the moan from escaping. "Too loud already." He growled as he pumped in and out of her, his fingers digging into her hips as he worked them over. His mouth on her cleavage, leaving behind light bite marks as he continued to thrust into her.

"Can't help it." She mumbled, her hands linked behind his neck as she bit her lip to keep them from being caught.

Jax walked backwards until his legs bumped into the bench nestled in the corner, he pushed his clothes to the ground and sat down, tugging the front of Noelle's dress down. "Your turn…" He ran his thumbs over her erect nipples and groaned as she shuddered under his touch.

Noelle nodded, moving her hips quickly back and forth as she felt him run the tip of his tongue over her nipples. "Shit…" She mumbled as she arched arched her back pushing her breasts into his face as she continued to move her hips.

He let out a barely audible moan as he held her tightly to him by her hips and bucked up into her, he needed to get them both off soon. "We gotta hurry up." He moved his hands up and down her body before moving them over her ass, helping her with her back and forth motions as she began to lose herself to lust. "That's it, get there babe…" He squeezed her ass roughly.

"Oh fuck." She sucked on her bottom lip and buried her face against his neck as she started to climax, feeling herself contracting around his cock as she continued to slowly move her hips in circles as he thrust into her. "Babe…" The brunette raked her teeth over his neck, sucking and nipping at it as she tried to get him off.

Jax hissed as he shook his head. "Knock it off." He grabbed her face and kissed her aggressively as he felt his balls begin to stir, a few more powerful thrusts and he found his release, stilling inside of her to let his orgasm pass. "We need to do this move often." He lifted her off him and watched as she quickly fixed herself in the mirror, frowning as she touched the various red marks he left behind. "Sorry babe." He kicked off the dress slacks and pulled his jeans back before pulling the door open and pushing her out quickly.

"You're such an ass sometimes." Noelle rolled her eyes and stared at the closed door. "Hurry up and change back so we can pay and leave." She grabbed her purse, looking at her phone before replying to her sister. "Melody texted me and said to tell you to answer your damn phone." She eyed Jax as he walked out of the dressing room, his suit back on its hanger.

He shrugged. "I'll answer it when I'm not fucking my soon to be wife in a dressing room." He kissed the brunette and smirked. "Let's go, I have club business to attend to." He poked at the hickeys he left behind.

She smacked his hand away from her chest. "I left marks of my own on you." She held his hand and swung it back and forth. "I cannot wait for you to see me in my dress baby." She leaned against him as she watched him pay for his suit. "You're gonna love it."

Jax slipped his wallet back into his pocket and looked at his soon to be wife. "I better love it for the price it cost us." He draped a heavy arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. "I don't see why you couldn't get the dress you have on now in white. It'd make for an easy access wedding night."

Noelle shook her head as she slipped into the passenger seat of his truck. "You'll love what I have to wear for our wedding night." She squeezed his thigh and smirked at him. "Just get me home to my babies, I have one last thing I need to do for wedding prep." She buckled herself in and rested her head against the seat as she pictured Jax on their wedding day. She smiled to herself, it was going to be the day of their lives.

* * *

 **Oh how I wonder what Jax has planned for Melo? The next few chapters will be longer and I hope you guys will love them because they'll be filled with a lot of chaos and fluff. (:**


	9. One Week

**thank you to those who leave me reviews! I enjoy reading them and I especially love when you guys leave behind suggestions and try to guess what happens next. It's all appreciated, so much.**

* * *

"Bingo." Noelle smiled at the house that she came to a slow stop in front of, after many back and forth arguments with Jax a few days ago, she had relented, agreeing to grab the kids and get out of town for a few days while he handled his mother. She looked at the house then to the backseat, grinning at the two sleeping kids before moving her gaze to the back window, taking note of Happy climbing off of his bike.

"You couldn't have picked a closer place?" Happy inquired as he opened the car door for the brunette. "This is where you wanna escape to? Seems a bit boring…"

She shrugged. "I need boring, we need boring." She gestured to the kids in the backseat. "This house is gorgeous, the schools in the area are highly acclaimed, it's the perfect place for potentially ex outlaw and his family to settle down in. This could be home."

Happy nodded as he grabbed a sleeping Abel from his seat. "Never pictured you as a true small town girl… Thought you'd talk Jax into moving to the city."

Noelle smiled. "Oh, believe me, I had plans to move Jax into the city before my dad sold that house. That was my home, now my home is the house in Charming but this could be home too." She unlocked the front door and walked inside. "It's cute."

He set Abel on the sofa next to Janelle and walked around the living room before looking at Noelle. "You really sure you should be here? You have a week until the big day."

"I had this argument with Jax. I'll stay here two days then we'll all meet up at the vineyard." The brunette raked her fingers through her hair and sighed. "So, do you like this place? Or should I keep looking?"

"You really makin' me wear a damn suit?" Happy moved into the kitchen after the young woman and took a seat at the kitchen table, stretching his legs out. "I think I'd look good in a flannel and my good jeans."

Noelle looked at him and rolled her eyes. "I swear to God, if you or Jax bring up a goddamn flannel again, I will crawl into a hole and cry for a year… You are wearing a suit and after the wedding and reception you can wear as many flannels as your heart desires."

He let out a raspy chuckle and looked at her. "Fine, fine… You sound like your mom when she goes on one of her little rants."

"Do I now?" She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the heavily tattooed man.

He nodded. "Yeah, you're so much like her it's crazy that you're not actually her blood." He rested his fists on the table. "You good with what Jax and Melody are doing in Charming? Trying to send Gemma further over the edge?"

"I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or not… Blaire can be a bit intense and out of control emotion wise." The young woman lifted herself onto the kitchen counter and nodded. "I'm not okay with it but they're going to do whatever the fuck they want to so it's really out of my hands… He could have just filed paperwork and had her committed against her will… No good judge will look at her and say she's competent enough to care for herself."

"They're just doing what they feel like they need to do to keep you and the children safe from Gemma in case she has that final break." Happy moved from his seat, leaning against the counter next to the young woman he considered to be his daughter. "I made a promise to keep you safe and the two children in their safe, so I need you to know if Jax pulls me into one of his plans, I'll have to do it, no matter how fucking dumb it seems to be."

Noelle smirked. "I get it completely, I just wish people would stop underestimating my ability to take care of myself and those two children… I don't want to be in danger but if it comes down to it, I'm willing to lay my life on the line to keep those children safe."

"No one is underestimating you… We know you can handle yourself. We're trying to prevent shit from getting to that point." He grabbed her chin and turned her face to look at him. "I don't care about your pride, your gun, or your determination, if Gemma ever comes into your house and you see her before she sees you, I want you to grab both kids and get out of the house. You fucking got that Noelle?"

"Yes, I understand you completely." She nodded at him as he dropped his hand from her chin. "You're such a dad, holy shit!"

Happy glared at her before shrugging. "Someone has to be a dad to your ass otherwise you'd think you're in some goddamn movie and just do whatever and hope you don't die."

"I mean, I'm young and dumb at times but I'm getting better at thinking shit through. I haven't pulled any guns out on any of the croweaters for trying to fuck Jax." Noelle smiled proudly. "I deserve a medal for that because those women test my patience, like why touch what isn't yours? This isn't kindergarten, we don't share!"

"Oh to be thirty again." He shook his head.

"We both know good and well that I'm not thirty, I'm five years off from hitting the dirty thirty!" She smacked his arm. "I think this is a good house though, the heart of a house is the kitchen. It's where most conversations happen. Listen to this amazing one we're having…"

Happy shook his head. "I swear you are aging slower than you should be… Shame on Jax for robbing the cradle."

"I refuse to have this conversation with you!" She covered her ears and shook her head as she dropped off the counter. "Refuse to!"

 **SOA**

"Does she talk?" Happy held Janelle upside down by a tiny leg as he looked at Noelle. "She won't talk for me…"

"I talk!" Janelle shouted up at him before giggling as she was set gently onto the lush green grass in the backyard. "I talk!"

"You heard the lady! She can talk, it depends on her energy level. She talks or babbles or whatever it is that toddlers do. She can hold a whole conversation at times, you may only be able to pick up a few words but it's cute as all hell." Noelle grabbed Janelle and hugged her. "Who's that?" She pointed at Happy.

"Happy!" The tiny brunette pointed a finger at the man. "Happy! Happy! Dog! Mommy!"

"That took an unexpected turn… The neighbors have a dog." She stood up from the grass and walked over to the wooden fence and peeked over as best she could. "It's a cute dog huh Nelly?"

"Dog!" The two and a half year old clapped her hand and giggled as she watched the Beagle running around the backyard. "Mine!"

"Oh no." Noelle groaned, casting a look back at Happy. "The mine stage has begun."

"Mine!" Janelle tried her hardest to leap out of her mom's arms. "Mine! Mine! Doggy is mine!"

Happy shook his head and laughed, walking to the fence and bending down. "You heard the girl, that's her dog." He grabbed a hold of the bottom of one of the wooden planks and pulled hard, splintering the piece of wood off. "She now has a dog." He whistled, watching as the dog came running towards the hole in the fence, causing the little girl to wriggle even more in her mom's arms.

"You're an ass, she can't take that dog." Noelle set her daughter down and crossed her arms. "It's not hers."

"The neighbors won't realize he's gone until it's too late and I doubt they'd drive to Cali to get him back." He shrugged watching Janelle try to pick the dog up. "Be careful with him."

"Mine." Janelle smacked Happy's hand away from the dog. "My doggy!"

"You heard her Grandpa, that's her dog." The brunette laughed. "I'm going to check on Abel… You watch her and don't try to steal any more dogs." She cast one last look before walking back inside the house, her eyes instantly on Abel who was coloring at the kitchen table. "Do you like this house?"

Abel nodded. "It's bigger. Are we moving here?"

"No, we're on a vacation for a few days." Noelle smiled at him. "The owners let us use their house to relax."

"Where's Nelly?" He set his markers down and looked at Noelle. "I wanna tell her a story."

"She's in the backyard, playing with a dog and Happy." The brunette stood up. "Go out back but don't touch the dog, your sister keeps hitting."

Abel nodded before hugging Noelle's legs. "She won't hit me."

Noelle smiled. "Alright, have fun. I'm going to call your dad then I'll be back outside."

* * *

"Gemma." Melody sat down next to the older woman and eyed her carefully. "Long time no see."

Gemma looked back at the brunette. "I liked it better with you gone." She took a long pull on her cigarette before blowing the smoke out slowly, her eyes never leaving the young woman. "Do you and your sister just exist so you can annoy me?"

The young woman shook her head. "Something like that…" She toyed with her lighter before sliding it back into the side of her boot. "I know your secret…" She kept her eyes trained on Gemma, watching as her posture stiffened up before relaxing.

"What're you talking about?" Gemma shook her head, running her hands over the front of her jeans, making her bangles clang together.

"You know, that huge secret." Melody shrugged her shoulders, doing her best to fish for information or at least a small hint. "The one with Wendy…" _Bullseye_. She watched as Gemma began to fidget around even more, avoiding making eye contact.

Gemma moved off the bench and stood up. "I don't think you know what you're saying." She positioned herself in front of Melody and placed her hands on her hips. "So, keep your mouth shut."

The brunette shrugged. "Why? Don't want Jax to know what you and Wendy are hiding?"

She grabbed Melody's hair and pulled her head closer. "You're about to get into a dangerous game Melody, I suggest you think twice about what you're trying to stick your nose in."

Melody grabbed her hand and pulled it out of her hair. "I think you're going to need to do a whole lot more than pulling on my hair to keep my quiet. I'm going to tell Jax… Right now."

Gemma backed up and looked at Melody and slapped her. "You're not telling Jackson shit… How do I know you even actually know a damn thing?"

The brunette started to panic for a moment, wracking her brain for something that would be a big enough thing to keep secret. "Abel… The secret is about Abel." She watched Gemma back away from her before lunging back towards her, causing Melody to flinch and move out of the way, sending Gemma tumbling to the dirty ground. "Jax! Jax!" She yelled, trying to move away from the enraged woman, hearing the clicking of heels on the cement. "Jax!"

"What?" Jax came rushing out of the clubhouse, Opie on his heels as he grabbed the brunette. "What's wrong?"

"Gemma, she attacked me Jax…" Melody looked back at Gemma who was looking every bit of guilty as she truly was. "I was just sitting there, minding my own business and she started attacking me!"

"You attacked her?" He looked at Melody, running a hand over the red palm print on her cheek. "What the hell is wrong with you? What'd she ever do to you Gemma?"

Gemma opened her mouth to speak before shutting it back quickly. "I don't know what happened." She lied, not wanting to incriminate herself with the secret that apparently Melody had figured out. "I have to go see Wendy."

Melody turned around and glared at Gemma. "You're not going anywhere, I'm calling the cops on your ass Gemma!"

Jax grabbed the brunette by her waist and pulled her back away from his mom. "Play it smart…" He whispered against her ear before letting her go. "Go see Wendy, I'll clean up this mess." He looked at his mom before turning his attention back to Melody. "What'd you say to get her to slap you anyway?"

The brunette shook her head. "I brought up Wendy and Abel and she freaked out… I think Gemma and Wendy are hiding something from you and Noe."

He nodded, looking at Melody before looking at his mom walk to her car. "I think we should drop in on Wendy." He looked back at Opie. "We can get there before she does…"

 **SOA**

Jax pounded on the apartment door, eager to get inside and hide. He needed to know why his mom was choosing to run to Wendy and what they could be possibly hiding. "Wendy!" He shouted, slapping the door with his palm before it flew open.

"Jax, what do you want? I already signed and set off the papers this morning." The blonde looked at her ex husband before moving to the side to allow him and Opie to walk in. "So, if you're here to beat something out of me, don't even bother."

He shrugged. "I'm here because Gemma attacked Noelle's sister, Melody after claiming she knew something that involved you, Abel and my mom… I need to know what's going on between you two and what does it have to do with my son?"

Wendy sat on the sofa and looked at the two men in front of her. "The only secret that I have with Gemma is the one that I had a relapse a week ago… It has nothing to do with Abel, that's why I signed the papers finally. I need time to get my shit together still so until then, I believe he's better off away from me and Gemma… She's gone insane Jax."

"Well, she's on her way over here, should be here any minute now." Jax looked at Opie and nodded towards the bathroom. "We'll stick around, if shit sounds like it's getting bad, just say pickle or some shit."

"Pickle?" She eyed Jax before rolling her eyes. "I wasn't aware we'd ever need a safe word."

"For Abel's sake use the safeword, one of these days he'll ask about you and I wouldn't want to tell him his grandma killed you." He glanced at her before a knock sounded on the door. "We'll be in the other room."

Wendy moved off the sofa, pulling the front door open before sitting back down. "Hey Gemma."

Gemma looked around and shook her head. "Alright junkie, what'd you tell Melody about us?"

"Who's Melody?" The blonde looked at the older woman carefully. "I don't know a Melody Gemma."

"Don't play dumb with me." She sat down on the sofa. "She knows the secret, the one we swore to keep…"

Wendy cocked a brow at Gemma and slowly shook her head. "I didn't tell her a damn thing! She's probably bluffing. I haven't even met a Melody Gem."

Gemma shook her head. "That little bitch… She's Noelle's sister." She stood up from the sofa and looked at Wendy. "Don't talk to Jax if he comes nosing around, I have an errand to take care of."

She nodded and stood up, walking Gemma to the door before locking it behind her. "You two can come out now… Like I told you before, she's insane Jax."

Jax nodded, slipping his burner out of his pocket. "I have to call Koz and let him know that Melody can't be left alone… I think Gemma's little errand is Melody."

 **SOA**

"So, why am I sitting in the garage with you?" Melody looked at Kozik and smiled. "You're my love and all but you know I hate when you try to teach me how to work on a bike."

Kozik shrugged. "Jax called, thinks Gemma is going to come after you so he needed me to keep you in my sight at all times until he tracks her down."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Damn, can we never execute a plan correctly? I thought this would be foolproof, get Gemma to hit me, have her arrested and out of the way for the custody thing and the wedding… I don't see why Jax didn't just let me call the cops on her, I have no problem being a snitch."

He shrugged and pulled her towards him. "I don't know… I was against this shit from the start but noooo, I can't say no to your ass so now you and Noelle are both in Gemma's sights." He kissed her and frowned. "I want you to know that if you ever come up with a dumbass plan again, I will lock your ass in the closet."

"I feel bad about it now, I was just trying to protect my sister and now I'm all in the middle of this shit." Melody chewed on her bottom lip as she watched Gemma walk into the garage from the office. "I want you to shoot her if push comes to shove."

Kozik nodded, moving around the brunette as they both cautiously eyed Gemma. "Hey Gem, you looking for Jax? He stepped out to handle something."

Gemma shook her head. "I'm here to talk to Melody…" She craned her neck, trying to see the brunette behind the large blonde. "Just a talk, you can leave us alone."

"After earlier? I'm not leaving you two alone." He wrapped an arm around Melody and continued to watch the older woman carefully. "I think you should go, if you're going to apologize, you can do it now. If you think you're going to attack her again, I think you need to rethink that thought and leave the garage now."

"I'm not leaving until she tells me everything she knows." Gemma moved closer to the couple, dropping her purse and flashing her handgun. "I need to know how she knows about the Abel thing."

Melody moved behind Kozik and shook her head. "I don't know anything Gemma, I was fucking with you earlier to get into your head to make you act reckless." She pressed her face against her boyfriend's back and steeled her nerves. "You can put the gun away Gemma! No need to do anything dumb." She started to slowly move around Kozik, her eyes still on the woman before flickering to the gun.

"Tell me how you know!" Gemma shouted, using her left hand to support her right one as she felt her nerves start to kick in. Her eyes wild and big as she looked at Melody. "I won't let either of you take that little boy away from me… You're not going to take him away from me!"

"Gemma, think twice about this." Kozik rested his hand on his gun, slowly pulling it from his holster. "If you come closer to her, I'll put you down with a single shot."

Melody shook her head, dropping her hand to her side. "Gemma, put the gun down." She moved in front of Kozik slowly, her right hand raised. "Put it down Gemma."

"Tell me how you know!" The woman waved the gun around, sending a round off into the ceiling before pointing her gun at Melody and pressing the trigger.

"Shit!" Kozik yelled, watching the body reel back and hit the floor. "Shit!" He holstered his gun, moving to the shocked brunette and taking the gun from her hand. "Jax is going to be in for a surprise..."

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 **Yeah, I left it as a sort of cliffhanger. (: What's a story without a good cliffhanger? lol**


	10. Slow Burn

**OMG loves! Sorry for the delay in update, I planned to update this the next day and ended up sick and unable to do anything until today. So enjoy this.**

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"Holy shit." Melody looked down at Gemma's body. "I can't fucking believe that shit happened…" She looked back at Kozik and shook her head. "You saw that I had to do it right? I had to shoot her because she fired first."

Kozik nodded his head slowly, moving towards Gemma and dropping to her side as he checked her pulse. "She's still here but I don't know for how much longer."

The brunette shrugged and dropped to her knees beside her boyfriend, putting pressure on the gunshot wound. "Well, call an ambulance babe… I don't think it's intended for her to die here."

He shook his head, pulling his burner out as the garage door opened and Jax and Opie rushed inside. "Gemma pulled a gun, she fired first and Melo shot her and now Gemma is bleeding out on the floor… I'm calling the ambulance."

Jax moved towards Melody, gently pulling her up to her feet. "Let her go…" He looked down at his mom and shook his head. "She's not worth saving."

Melody frowned, looking at her blood covered hands. "I guess…" She looked down at Gemma and back at Jax. "I didn't mean to hit something deadly."

He shrugged. "It's not like she didn't have this coming… Where'd you get the gun anyway?" He dropped down to his mom's side, watching her eyes scan the room, the sound of her beginning to choke on her own blood permeated the quiet space. "Ambulance on it's way? We need it to look like she attacked Melody and Melody fired in self defense."

She sighed and dropped down to her knees putting more pressure on Gemma's neck. "I liked you at one point then I started to hate you… I hate you so much right now Gemma for putting me in this situation but I couldn't allow you to threaten my sister and her family… Noelle gave me the gun before she left, the holster too." She gestured to her leg. "It came in handy just like she said it would."

Jax smirked at the brunette as the doors opened and the EMTs came rushing in, pushing him and Melody away from Gemma. "That stupid thigh holster." He moved outside towards the water hose, eager to rid himself of the blood on his hands as Melody did the same. "You did what you had to do… Don't ever feel guilty about it."

Melody shrugged as she let him rinse her off the best he could. "I don't feel guilty about it at all… I was doing what I needed to make sure she couldn't threaten my sister and her family. I do however wish my aim was better and it would have been a clean kill shot… She's in there dying in like the worst way possible."

He nodded, moving in front of her as an officer started towards them. "Can I help you officer?"

"I need to know what happened?" The officer looked between Jax and Melody, his eyes taking in the blood washing down the drain on the ground. "How it ended with Mrs. Morrow fighting for her life."

Jax looked back at Melody. "My mom shot at Melody first and Melody returned fire… It's all on tape, I'll have Juice get you the footage."

"She shot twice." Melody mumbled to the officer, rolling her eyes in irritation. "It was either kill or be killed and I just shot because I do not want to die in a mechanic's garage." She shook her head and blinked at the officer.

"Twice?" Jax looked at the brunette and rubbed his cheek.

"One was an accident and it just went careening around the room and the second time she was aiming at me but missed obviously." She sighed and looked at both men. "Do I need to come down to the station and talk to you or can I get home and get washed and changed?"

The officer shook his head. "You can go home but stay in town."

Melody nodded slowly. "I won't leave town, I have nothing to hide. I didn't do anything wrong, so I no reason to leave." She wiped her hands on her shirt and sighed. "Can you tell Koz that I'll be waiting by the car?"

Jax nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell him." He watched the brunette walk towards the black BMW and smirked, his plan had turned out better than expected.

 **SOA**

Jax sighed and dragged his feet as he walked into St. Thomas, he had spent the afternoon avoiding the hospital. Hoping that his mother would go peacefully but of course nothing ever came easy with Gemma. Instead of getting news of her death, he got news that she was still hanging on. Fighting to come back to a family who didn't want her around. "Hey." He saw Unser sitting outside the room, sipping coffee.

"She's holding on." Unser looked at Jax and smiled softly. "Strong woman."

The young man shrugged. "Unfortunately…" He looked through the small window in the door and shook his head. "I don't get why she wants to stick around, she's burned every fucking bridge. She has no more family here besides you. Not even the guys are here, apart from Tig."

Unser shook her head. "Still your mom, you're here."

Jax nodded. "I'm here with hopes that my mom will feel my presence and decide to die." He took a seat and ran his hands over his face. "She's been out to ruin my life, ever since Noelle popped into the picture. I refuse to have her in my life, working against the positives I have going on. Noelle, Abel, Janelle and any other kids we may have. That's what I need to protect from that woman laying in that bed on the other side of the door. If she makes it, so be it. She'll be either in jail or in a mental hospital."

The older man sighed and nodded. "I get it, she doesn't like the fact that she can no longer control you or what you do but she is your mother."

"Stop defending her!" Jax growled at the man. "This isn't some situation you can dissolve into some petty reasoning as to why she's doing what she's doing. That woman is sick in the head and doesn't seem to grasp the concept that if she would stop trying to change things, or control things, or fucking manipulate everyone then she would still have a family that loves and cares about her. All this shit, her laying there fighting for her life, that was her own damn fault! She brought this upon herself and if it hadn't been Melody who shot her, it would have been me."

"Jax." Tara spoke meekly, her eyes on the ground as she stayed back away from the pair of men. "I have an update on your mom."

He tuned, looking at the brunette before gritting his teeth. "Tell it to someone who cares." He brushed past her, moving towards the elevators, ignoring Tara calling his name.

/

"Happy." Noelle dropped onto the sofa, resting her legs on the man's lap as she tried to tell if he was asleep or just had his eyes closed. "Did you hear?"

Happy nodded his head, not bothering to open his eyes. "I heard that Melody is a terrible shot and that I should have been teaching her to shoot and not you." He smirked and crossed her arms behind his head. "How do ya feel about it?"

"I feel relieved but bad for my sister for her being in that position." She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "I also don't feel too good about not being with her right now."

He groaned. "You remember when you were pregnant and her parents tried to kill you?" He eyed the brunette and shrugged. "Consider that a debt repaid. You didn't ask her to do it, she offered to do it. This is her problem to deal with and all you can do is be there for her, don't feel bad about her being in the situation because she was protecting her family, you would have shot Gemma too."

"Head shot." Noelle smiled. "Right about the left eye."

Happy knocked her legs off his lap and smirked. "You still think this house if your new home? I think it has potential with a little projects here and there."

"Yeah." She nodded, her eyes lighting up. "I want to plant a garden out back, a huge one, no roses though… I can see the kids having a jungle gym back there and even a damn dog for baby girl, it's just a whole new canvas for a new chapter in life. This is going to be home."

He smiled and nodded. "Now, you need to tell Jax that." He stood up and pulled her into a hug. "You're doing the right thing for your family."

Noelle smiled. "Yeah, I know… It feels right but it also feels weird, like it's going a little to good. I'm on edge waiting for some new bomb to drop. I know I should relax and enjoy myself now that Gemma is pretty much out of the picture and not a threat anymore but I can't help but think that something else is gonna go wrong."

Happy shook his head. "I don't see what bomb could drop now… You piss off any more women close to the club?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "No, I've only ever butted heads with Gemma, Wendy, and Tara. I think if it weren't for Gemma, I'd actually get along with both women."

"You really think you'd get along with Wendy?" He scoffed and shook his head. "You need to get some sleep." He pushed her towards the stairs. "Go to sleep, you need it… We'll be meeting up with everyone tomorrow."

 **SOA**

"Jax!" Noelle wrapped her arms around him as soon as she got out of her car. "I missed you babe." She kissed him as he continued to hug her back and sway back and forth. "I missed you so much babe."

Jax smiled and kissed her back before pulling back and licking his lips. "I missed you too, how was it? Did you like the house you stayed at? What'd the sellers say?"

The brunette nodded and smiled. "Jackson, it was amazing! It was big but not too big. It had a spacious backyard and was a short drive over to the most gorgeous lake front. It was picturesque, I took a lot of pictures. I also need to tell you that Nelly has a pet dog named Doggy… Happy stole the dog from the neighbors…" She looked back at Happy who just smirked.

He shook his head. "So, it's a yes on that place?" He looked towards the car and smiled as he saw his kids asleep. "The ride knocked them out nicely." He grabbed her hands and kissed her forehead. "You still have time to run if you don't wanna get married…"

"Not gonna run." Noelle smiled up at him. "Didn't stick it out this long to tuck tail and run off… I'm doing this… You still have time if you wanna run babe."

"Nope." Jax smirked. "I'm looking forward to the wedding night and seeing exactly what you have planned for us. Something tells me that it's going to be a night I will never forget."

"It'll be very unforgettable, I promise you that much." She hugged him again. "Help me get the kids out of the car and into the cottage… Did your guests start flowing into town yet?"

He nodded as he picked up Abel from the backseat. "A few, all mumbling about what happened with Gemma… I hope that doesn't dampen the mood of our day." He started walking towards the cottage they were staying in for the duration of the wedding and a few days after. "Did the kids love the house?"

Noelle set Janelle on the sofa and turned to Jax. "They loved it, they both didn't wanna leave. Happy even tried to show the two of them how to fish and Nelly took to calling him Grandpa. So, that was freaking adorable, I almost died of cuteness overload… I took a lot of pictures of that bonding moment as well. I know my mom is going to love looking at them all."

"Grandpa." Jax chuckled and looked at his sleeping children. "Wendy signed the papers… Or so she said she did. We're just waiting for confirmation from your mom as soon as she gets word." He pulled the brunette to him and ran his fingers through her hair. "Your sister is here already, I think her and Kozik went out to walk through the vineyard."

"I need to see her!" She smiled and pulled out of Jax's arms. "I wanna hug her and thank her and buy her a bottle of wine…" She turned towards the door. "I'll be back babe, watch the kids." She walked out the door, her white Converse kicking up dust as she moved towards the vineyard, her eyes scanning the seemingly unending rows of grapes. "Melody!" She called out, listening closely for any answer. "Melo!"

"Noe!" Melody sprinted to her sister. "My love!" She jumped on her sister, wrapping her limbs tightly around her as they fell to the ground. "I missed you!" She laughed, unwrapping herself from the brunette underneath her before moving back to sit on her stomach.

Noelle laughed and looked up at her sister. "You can get off of me now Melody… I came to thank you for everything. I heard." She pushed off from the ground and dusted herself off. "I love you for it."

The younger brunette shrugged her shoulders. "We protect our own." She smiled and shrugged again. "So! I'm excited to finally be in the wedding and wearing my dress, it's been torture not to put it on and go out in it. Thank God you have fashion sense and didn't choose awful bridesmaids dresses."

"I'm nervous! I just want everything to be perfect." Noelle picked the twigs from the end of her unruly curly hair. "I'm thinking that I want to straighten my hair and make it wavy for the big day. Bohemian, mother nature, woodsy goddess, wood nymph… You see where I'm going with the whole look?"

Melody nodded. "You hire the whole makeup and hair team? Or are you just doing it yourself? I can help you with both."

"I didn't hire a team because I wanted to do it myself." She shrugged. "I'd love your help, we can go over my checklist in the house and make sure we have everything. If not, we need to find a store or at least a Walmart."

"As long as you have your dress, you should be fine." Melody wrapped an arm around her sister's waist. "Deep breaths."

"I have the dress." Noelle smiled. "Did you lose Kozik in the field?"

"No! I don't think so… He wandered off when he saw Tig and a few others drinking." Melody smiled as they moved closer to the house. "I need to see you in your dress! I've only seen glimpses of it in those stupid pictures."

Noelle smiled as she lead Melody into the house. "I found her." She smiled at Jax who was holding Janelle and her new dog. "I'm taking her upstairs to see my dress."

Jax nodded. "I wanna see it too."

"Stand in line." Melody stuck her tongue out at the man. "I get to see it first because I'm her sister and maid of honor."

Noelle pulled her younger sister into the bedroom and closed and locked the door behind her. "So, are you ready? It's not a traditional dress and it's custom for me… Mom helped me a lot with it." She unzipped the dress bag and pulled the dress out, laying across the bed for Melody to examine. "It's gorgeous yeah?"

Melody looked at the dress and nodded. "It's so you." She ran her fingers over the lace top and smiled brightly. "It's fun and whimsical, Jax is going to go insane when he sees you in this Noe. It's gorgeous."

The brunette smiled and nodded. "You see why I need some just plain and fun hair? I want the dress to be the focus and the hair needs to complete it… Wavy with a headpiece, like the floral crowns I always put Janelle in even though she rips them off her head a minute later."

"It's perfect and I have the perfect hair style and make up in mind for you… You're going to look amazing on your wedding day." Melody squeezed her older sister and squealed. "Now, show me what the princess is wearing!"

Noelle grinned and grabbed a smaller dress bag off the closet door. "It's the same type of style but for a two year old… Janelle loves a cute maxi skirt and cami." She laughed as she held up the dress. "Pretty damn cute for Miss Nelly if I do say so myself… Mom almost cracked her face from smiling so big."

"Why do you just call her mom? Why no my in front of it?" Melody held up the miniature wedding dress and examined it before smiling.

"I don't know, I just see her as both of our moms now… Sorry." Noelle frowned as she zipped her dress back into the black bag.

"It's alright, I was just wondering." The brunette smiled. "It used to be my mom or Blair."

Noelle chuckled. "Times have changed, she sees you as her daughter… You should talk to her sometime, hang out with her. She's not trying to replace your mom or anything, unless you want that." She laid on the bed and hugged a pillow to herself. "She's not as bitchy as she looks."

Melody nodded. "I'll talk to her about it." She laid on the bed with her sister. "Let's just nap, then we can wake up and go on a hunt for floral crown supplies." She smiled at Noe. "I'm glad you're here with me, maybe I'll actually get some sleep, instead of tossing and turning all night because of nightmares."

"I'll keep you safe." Noelle pulled her sister closer and kissed her forehead. "Sleep as long as you need to babygirl… I won't leave your side." She brushed Melody's hair out of her face and smiled as she closed her eyes. "Love you."

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 **Yeah, so let me know what you thought about this... The wedding starts next chapter, I'm excited for that and hope you are too!**


	11. Wedding Part One

**Sorry about the update delay, I had this whole wedding written out then lost the doc when my computer crashed... So I had to rewrite it, this is part one, I'll have the second part up in a day or so. I just didn't want to put out a 10000 word chapter. lol**

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Noelle smiled as she stood on the front porch of the cottage and watched the people buzz around the vineyard, setting up for her wedding. _Her_ wedding to the love of her life, Jackson Teller. She couldn't help but smile, her dimples present as she felt her stomach flutter with butterflies. She was over the moon with excitement. She was about to make a lifelong commitment and she still couldn't believe that Jax even proposed. They had come along way from drunken kisses in a dark corner at a house party to being parents to two children.

"You can still run." Melody wrapped her arms around Noelle's shoulders and laughed. "I'll help you take off, create a diversion."

The brunette shook her head. "Don't wanna run… Well, I wanna run down the aisle and marry my man but that's about it." She laughed and turned around to face her sister. "I'm so excited and nervous… I woke up with butterflies and almost got sick."

"Wedding jitters." Melo smiled and ran her fingers through her sister's hair. "You're looking gorgeous though." She touched the floral crown on top of Noelle's head.

"I'm so hoping my nature goddess shows through with this whole makeup and hair thing… I want him to look at me and be even more in love than before." Noelle shook her head and smiled. "Thanks for this though, I couldn't have even done this makeup and hair without you."

"It's going to look perfect all put together… We have what? Four hours until the big walk down the aisle?" Melody pulled her sister back into the house. "We have to start to get ready, Janelle is still napping… She'll be the last one we dress. I love these photographers though, they're literally documenting every moment."

"I know… They're amazing." The brunette smiled at the photographers as she walked into the room where she would be getting ready. "I'm still in shock that this day is actually happening right now… I'm so happy and blessed. I honestly never thought it would become this serious between Jax and I."

"I'm here." Blair walked into the room and smiled at the two brunettes before moving to hug the both of them. "I'm excited to see you in your gown my love." She kissed Noelle's forehead and smiled.

"The Queen has arrived." Noelle smirked at her mom, watching as she set her garment bag on the bed next to hers. "I'm excited to see me in my gown as well… Hell, I'm just excited for this all to be happening. I'm sure Jax is off having fun with his brothers and I hope he's not corrupting Abel too badly."

"You should be getting ready dear." The blonde pulled her daughter to her feet. "It's better to be ready early in case something goes wrong, like you get a run in your stockings."

The brunette nodded. "I'm not wearing stockings." She shook her head and moved away from her mom and to her dress. "I have nice legs and no one even wears stockings anymore to be frank with you. Call them tights anyway." She unzipped the bag. "Help me with this, I am too shaky to be putting this on myself."

Melody nodded and moved towards her older sister. "We need to remember to cover your face if you're pulling your dress over your head… Don't wanna mess up the make up and don't want to get any on the dress."

Noelle nodded her head slowly before stripping down to her bra and panties. "This is really happening." She stepped into the skirt of the dress and frowned at the way it fit her more snuggly than before. "Fuck my life, I've gained weight!" She groaned, crossing her fingers that the lace top would still fit her perfectly.

"Shut up, you're still tiny as ever." Melo helped her into the top and smiled as she took a step back. "Well excuse me because your dress is perfect and you're giving off bohemian, hippie, mother nature, Coachella festival attendee."

The brunette laughed and nodded. "I'm loving this dress." She moved towards the mirror and examined herself. "You guys, you don't think this is too simple right?"

Blair shook her head. "It's perfect Noelle. I love it way more than the original dress we had bought and picked out. This one is you, this one fits the venue. This one is just perfect on you." She wiped at her eyes and smiled. "Jax is going to love you in this."

Noelle smiled and hugged her mom. "I'm so nervous about this." She pulled away and sighed. "You two need to get ready, I'm going to try to wake up sleeping beauty and get her ready. You're going to die when you see her dress."

Melody watched Noelle disappear out of the room before closing the door and turning to Blair. "So, which one of us is going to tell Noe that she's pregnant?"

Blair laughed and shook her head. "She'll figure it out eventually when the day is over but the nausea feeling stays with her. It's not our place to tell her. Let's just allow her to enjoy the day and have a memorable wedding night."

"I wonder if they'll be happy about the newest addition to the family." Melody pulled on her dress and smiled at her reflection. "Thank God for a bride with fashion sense. Am I right?" She placed her floral crown on her head and secured into place as Noelle walked back in with a groggy Janelle on her hip. "Oh look at the little princess."

"She's got her father's grumpiness." Noelle set the tiny brunette on the bed and smiled. "You ready to get all dolled up and see daddy?"

"No!" Janelle shook her head and kicked her legs. "No!"

"But it's daddy, he wants to see you looking all cute." Noelle glared down at her daughter. "Come on Janelle, don't be difficult."

"You're not supposed to bargain with a damn toddler." Blair pushed Noelle out of the way. "You're going to put on your dress, your shoes, let Melody do your hair… No bargaining here." She crossed her arms and looked at her granddaughter. "You're gonna let your mommy put the dress on, got it?"

"No!" Janelle shook her head. "No! I want Happy!"

"Well, that was a plot twist." Noelle grabbed her phone off of the dresser. "I'll get Happy over here, I don't want to fight with grumpy face and I don't feel like being kicked when she decides to pitch a fit. I look phenomenal."

 **SOA**

Jax shrugged into suit jacket and looked at his reflection in the mirror before sliding it back off and tossing it onto the dresser. "I can't believe we're close to making his official. Second times the charm." He shook his head and looked towards the door as Happy walked back in, Janelle at his feet. "That's where you were summoned to?"

Happy shrugged. "She wouldn't listen to her mom and kept giving Blair lip." He flicked Janelle's ear before she ran towards Jax.

Jax picked up Janelle and kissed her forehead. "You being difficult? Where's your dress at huh? I thought you were going to be the flower girl."

"I got the dress." Happy held up the bag and tossed it to Opie. "You two are getting her ready… I'm just here for moral support." He chuckled before sitting down next to Opie.

"No." Janelle shook her head and wagged a little finger in her dad's face. "No dress!"

"You gotta wear a dress for me." Jax tossed her into the air, smiling when she started to giggle. "You have to wear your dress, it'll be fun." He set her on her feet and brushed her hair out of her face. "Opie, toss me the dress."

"I can't believe she's crashing the guys' suite." Opie looked at the tiny brunette and smiled. "You excited Janelle?"

"No!" Janelle looked at him before turning her back to him. "Juice! Juice! Juice!"

"Did someone call my name?" Juice walked into the room and picked up the little girl. "How's my favorite Teller?"

"Juice!" Janelle giggled and patted his cheeks. "Juice!"

"We'll never know if she ever wants actual juice or if she wants _Juice_." Opie shook his head. "We're trying to get her dressed."

"I'll help!" Abel finally spoke up. "She usually listens to me."

"Abel!" Janelle toddled to her older brother. "Some juice!"

Abel shook his head. "We'll get juice after you put your clothes on." He held up the dress and showed it to her. "It's like mommy's dress."

Jax smiled at his kids before taking the dress and picking up Janelle. He quickly switched her into her dress before placing her headband on her head. "You look like a princess." He set her down and watched her move back to Abel. "We'll get her juice but we need to put a bag on her or some shit. Noe would kill us if she got grape juice on her dress."

"No grape." Janelle tugged on Jax's shirt and held her arms in the air. "Up! Up!"

"What do you need darlin'?" He looked at his daughter and smiled at how perfect she looked. He could only imagine what'd Noelle look like. "You just wanna be carried?" He chuckled as she nodded her head. "I figured."

"I just came over from the girls' suite… They have more food than us." Kozik held up a tray of food. "I swiped one… I never seen Blair get so angry so fast. Jax, man you're in for a real fucking treat when you see Noe." He set the tray down and patted Jax on the back. "You ready for this?"

Jax nodded. "Yeah I'm ready for it. I have my vows written… Don't be mean to Blair either, she's my new mom. I'll kick your ass if you make her mad again." He smirked at Kozik before looking back at his daughter who was playing with his tie. "Where's Chibs?"

"He's outside with Tara…" Juice grimaced as soon as the sentence left his mouth. "She's his plus one."

"Figures." He shrugged as he brushed Janelle's unruly hair out of her face. "What am I supposed to do with your hair kid? You think you want a ponytail or something?"

"No." Janelle shook her head. "Mommy!"

Jax nodded. "I'll walk you over to your mommy." He moved through the crowd of his brothers and out of the room. His blue eyes landing on Chibs and Tara, he gave the couple a friendly wave before continuing to his destination. "I'm nervous kid. I didn't think I'd ever be getting married, never thought I'd have a family besides the club but here we are. I have a son, daughter and I'm about to marry the love of my life. This is scary." He smiled at the brunette who was back playing with his tie. "Remember, stay as far away from guys like me when you grow up… They won't all turn out to be decent."

"Hug?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. "Juice now!"

He chuckled, admiring the innocence of his daughter who only ever seemed to want juice or her mom. "Your mom will give you some." He knocked on the door. "It's me, I'm dropping off Janelle, she wanted you Noelle."

Noelle stuck her head out of the room and smiled. "You're not supposed to be anywhere near me. I hear it's bad luck." She eyed him carefully before opening the door a little wider to allow Janelle to toddle inside the room. "I'll see you in about fifteen minutes at the altar… I love you Jackson."

"I love you too Noelle." Jax smiled at her. "Cherish these last fifteen minutes of being a Montague."

 **SOA**

Jax stood next to the officiant, his hands moving nervously at his sides as he listened to Opie, Chibs and Happy joke and laugh next to him. It was time. Finally he was making Noelle his wife, he was nervous and excited. His nerves on edge as he watched as Blair walked up the aisle, Melody right behind her before Abel started his walk. A smile on the young child's face as he carried the pillow that held the wedding bands. "Thanks Abel." Jax smiled down at him as he moved off to the side. The music changing as Janelle did her best to walk down the aisle and toss flowers.

"Thank God she's beautiful because she can't multitask for shit." Happy shook his head.

"She's two." Jax defended his daughter, laughing as she sat down half way down the aisle, the basket in front of her as she happily threw the flowers all around her. "Jesus Christ…" He shook his head, moving down the aisle to grab the tiny brunette. "Gotta stay with me, your mom is coming down the aisle." He brushed her curls out of her face as he took a deep breath as the music started playing. "Here she comes."

Noelle held her breath as she started her walk down the aisle, her eyes fixed on Jax who was holding Janelle. "I'm not gonna cry yet." She exhaled, counting her steps so she would trip and fall flat on her face.

"Wow." Opie nudged Jax in his side. "She looks gorgeous."

"She does." Jax nodded in agreement as he smiled like a fool, watching his soon to be wife stop at the altar. "You look phenomenal." He moved Janelle to his other side as he grabbed Noelle's hand and rubbed over her knuckles.

The brunette nodded and squeezed his hand tightly. "I'm trying my hardest not to cry yet." She laughed and looked at him before the officiant.

He stared at her, completely entranced by her beauty. Her dress was everything he thought it'd be. The long flowing skirt and the lace crop top embodied everything that she was. Simple and gorgeous. It was perfect, she was perfect and in a matter of minutes, she was going to be his forever. Take his last name and allow him to introduce her as his wife and not just his girlfriend anymore. She has made him less of an outlaw and more of a man and that was something he needed to thank her for. He needed to thank her for saving him during his darkest time and never leaving his side since.

"The couple has written their own vows." The officiant smiled at the couple. "Jackson, you're first."

Jax nodded, turning to face Noelle who was smiling at him, a tear rolling down her cheek occasionally. "I guess this is where my brothers are going to find out I have this sensitive side. I just hope they don't give me too much hell for it, all I'm trying to do is tell my lady how much she means to me…" He smirked.

"We know about it already!" Opie yelled.

He chuckled and looked back at his best friend. "Well, I guess I need to be better at keeping secrets." He turned back to Noelle and smiled again, reaching out to wipe away the tears rolling down her face. "Noe, I guess I need to start off by thanking you. For being there when I needed someone outside of the club to talk to, for being able to tell when I needed to talk or when I just needed to be left alone to sort through shit, for always being able to put a smile on my face without fail, for being an amazing best friend, turned love of my life. I couldn't ask for a better woman to spend the rest of my days with and raise a couple of kids with. I love you Noelle."

Noelle smiled and nodded, wiping at her eyes. "Way to make me cry like a fool babe…" She laughed and took a deep breath before exhaling. "Well, you're welcome… I honestly never thought we'd be getting married. When I first met you, you were just the handsome guy who walked into a party. Never in a million years did I think we'd end up being best friends, let alone fall in love with each other. I'm glad it happened though, I couldn't imagine there being a better man for me than you. The past few years have been wonderful, although a few of them have been an emotional rollercoaster, from finding out about Janelle to welcoming Abel into the family. I'll have to say it's been a time I will never forget. We've built an amazing relationship, it's strong, it's been tested on more than one occasion and we've proven to everyone that we can keep it together and come out even stronger than before. I couldn't have gotten through the death of my dad without you by my side… Hell, because of you I've met some of the most amazing guys ever. Happy, Opie, Chibs, Kozik, and even Juice… I mean the list can go on, you know how amazing your brothers are." She smiled. "I look forward to many more years of happiness and adventures with you. I know our love is only going to become greater and stronger. I'm just blessed that we have such an amazing support system behind us now. We've gotten rid of those working against us. I love you Jackson."

"By the power vested in me by the state of California." The officiant began. "I know pronounce you husband and wife, Jackson, you may kiss the bride."

Jax moved forward and pulled Noelle tight to him before kissing her, smirking as he heard the guests cheer for them. "Mrs. Teller."

"Mr. Teller." Noelle smiled back at him as she lost her bouquet of flowers to Janelle.

"May I introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Jackson Teller." The officiant clapped and smiled at the couple.

"Come on." Noelle grabbed Abel's hand before her and Jax started to walk back down the aisle and towards the reception hall. "I can't believe it, we're married and now I get to see you dance!"

He shook his head, trying to place Janelle on her feet without any luck. "It's like she's velcroed to my side…"

The brunette laughed. "It's cute babe, it's like you're the daddy monkey and she's the little baby monkey that won't let go." She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "So, do you love this dress? Or do you love this dress?"

"I love it, you look perfect." Jax smirked. "I guess we need to let the guests in so they can start drinking and having a grand ol' time. The ceremony was mostly for us anyway, Mrs. Teller."

Noelle nodded. "Let them drink and be merry… I'm going to find my mom, I heard her crying behind us. I know she's emotional today."

 **SOA**

Jax smiled as he watched Noelle dance around the dance floor with Abel and Janelle. The smiles and laughter alone made the headache of a wedding worth it. There in front of him was his family, his happy carefree family. "This couldn't have gone down any better." He looked at Opie who was sipping a beer.

"They're happy." Opie leaned forward and patted his best friend on the back. "You made that happen… You get to get out of this shit and start over soon. You ready for that?"

He nodded slowly. "I've been an outlaw so long, I know I'll have some trouble adjusting to living outside of Charming and away from the club. I'm willing to try it though, for those three. For my dad."

"At least you don't have to worry about anyone trying to stop you from doing so." Opie smiled. "You're free to leave… Nothing will stop you. Gemma won't be able to stop you from making your move anymore."

"Hey! Babe! Jax! Jackson!" Noelle yelled. "Come dance with us! I need to see if you can actually move!"

"That's my cue… I'll be back." Jax set his drink on the table and moved towards his wife and children. "Are you ready to be put to shame?" He grabbed Noelle's hands and pulled her close to him. "I can groove… I have the hips for it."

"Yeah you do." She laughed as they started to move back and forth to the slow music. "This is what I wanted… A wedding that our daughter could be part of, even though she was a hot mess as the flower girl but that was to be expected. She's two but have you gotten a preview of those pictures? They're absolutely stunning. Really caught the colors of her eyes." She smiled as she watched Janelle try to dance while keeping her crown on her head.

"She's our hot mess." He looked at their daughter who had completely given up on the crown staying on her head. "She's going to give us hell when she's older. I can already see it now." He kissed the brunette and smirked. "I'm so ready for tonight…"

"I don't even think you'll be able to handle anything I have for you tonight." Noelle tugged on the front of his shirt and kissed him, dragging her teeth gently over his bottom lip before sucking on it. "It's going to be a night to remember."

Jax groaned and rubbed her lower back. "You're so gonna get it Noe. You know how I hate being teased like that..." He pulled away from her and smirked. "I'm betting that I'll love whatever is under that dress of yours…"

She shrugged. "Who says I'm even wearing anything under this dress?" She winked at him before backing up. "You just ponder over that while I grab myself a drink." She turned away from him and moved towards the bar. "I'll have a water please." She smiled at the bartender who gave her a weird look. "Saving the wine drinking for later…"

"Hey Noelle… Your wedding was absolutely gorgeous." Tara looked at the bride and smiled tightly. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Uh, yeah sure." Noelle nodded and moved closer to Tara, trying to figure out what she could have to talk about. "What's up?"

"It's about Gemma…" Tara started before stopping at the look the young woman was giving her. "I know this is not the place or time to bring her up but she's barely hanging on and I think it's only right if Jax is there for the last moments, no matter what shit she's been doing."

The brunette scoffed and crossed her arms. "Tara, you've completely lost your fucking mind for bringing this up. It's not your position to try to mend that fucked up relationship. You're stupid if you think Gemma doesn't deserve her family turning their backs on her. Look at what she did, she was so bent on making everything in the twisted vision she had that she pushed everyone away. I'm not going to go to my husband and tell him to sit at her bedside while she may or may not slip away in the middle of the night… If Jax wants to be with her while she's on her death bed then that's his decision to make."

"They were close before you came into the picture…" Tara mumbled before starting to walk away, only to feel Noelle pull on her hair. "Ouch, what the fuck Noelle?"

"Don't you ever blame Gemma going crazy on me… Crazy like that doesn't just happen overnight." Noelle tightened her grip on Tara's hair. "I suggest you fucking leave my reception before I have security toss your ass out. You got that Doc?" She pushed Tara's head away before regaining her composure. This was her wedding day and she was not about to allow some brainwashed doctor get the best of her. She was going to stay calm, collected, and excited about what the rest of the evening and night held for her and her new husband.

* * *

 **let me know what you thought of the chapter yeah? For the readers who are curious as to what certain characters look like and what dress Noelle wore on her big day. I've linked you to my tumblr in my profile. you'll find a link that'll lead you to every crucial character from my stories and a few that you've yet to meet. so check that out if you're curious.**


	12. Wedding Part Two

Noelle frowned as she watch Happy carry off Janelle. She knew she should have been over the moon about spending her wedding night alone with her new husband but she couldn't help the fact she was going to miss her daughter for the next few days. She sighed and pulled the floral crown from her hair and ran her fingers through the soft tresses, smiling at the feeling of her nails gently moving over her scalp. "So much better." She tossed the crown to the dresser and moved further into the suite.

"Babe." Jax closed the door behind him and locked it before moving closer to Noelle and pulling her tightly against him, his hands moving from her lower back, to her hips, before dropping to her ass and giving it a firm squeeze. "I want you so bad…" He kissed the side of her neck before sucking hard on the soft skin. He smirked as he heard a barely audible moan escape his wife's lips.

"Jax…" She let his name fall from her lips as she felt his teeth scrape against her jawline. "I want you so damn bad."

He nodded and lifted her up onto the dresser, his hands on her waist before moving to her breasts, massaging them through the delicate lace top of her dress. "You're not attached to this are you?" He grabbed the neckline and looked at her.

"Rip it and you're dead…" Noelle lifted up her arms and let him yank the top roughly over her head and didn't protest as he ripped her bra and tossed it over his head.

He smirked at her before capturing her left nipple in his mouth, sucking on it hard before biting it gently. He moved to her right nipple, repeating the same gesture as he tugged on her left nipple. "I couldn't wait…" He palmed her breasts roughly, watching her face twist up in pleasure before he bit her neck, leaving an angry red mark behind. "I know you told me to wait an hour and then come in but I couldn't fucking wait."

She shrugged, wrapping her legs around him and pulling her to him tightly. "I don't care that you didn't wait." She sucked on his bottom lip as she dragged her nails up and down the back of his neck. "I just want you right now babe…" She groaned as he pulled away from her, quickly pulling his clothes off before moving back between her legs. "Fuck me Jackson."

Jax rucked her dress up to her hips, his hands sliding up and down her soft thighs as he pulled on the garter belt she was still wearing. "I knew we forgot to do something." He moved his hands higher, settling on the waistband of her panties before pulling them off down her legs and letting them fall to the floor. "You sure you wanna be fucked?" He watched her nod yes, before he pulled her to the edge of the dresser. He slid a finger up and down her already soaked folds, groaning as he slid a finger in, moving it slowly before adding a second one.

"Oh fuck." Noelle wrapped her hands around his wrist and tried her hardest to get him to finger her faster. "Jax, don't go so damn slow." She growled at him.

He shook his head and withdrew his fingers. "You're my little slut, you can't tell me what to do Noelle…" He ran his hand over her pussy and smirked. "This is mine and I'll do what I want and I'll do it at my own pace."

She bit her lip and nodded, feeling him slide his fingers back inside her, as his mouth went back to her breasts, licking and nipping at the flesh. "God…" She moaned out as she gripped the edge of the dresser and rolled her hips slightly, her body wanting and needing more contact than she was currently getting.

He pulled away, ridding himself of his clothes quickly, moving back between her legs, wrapping his arms around her thighs as he pulled her almost off the dresser. He caught her lips in a kiss as he pushed his aching member inside of her. Pausing to relish in the feeling of her being wrapped around him. "Fuck." He groaned out as he started to thrust into her, his fingers digging into her thighs. "You feel so damn good…" He pulled out and slammed back in her, smiling as her head fall back and a loud moan escaped her lips.

"Fuck, _fuck_." The brunette wrapped her arms around her husband's neck, her head rolling forward as she felt herself stretch around his cock. Having him inside or her, sent her into a state of pure bliss, her hands dropped to his shoulders, her nails gazing over the skin before digging into it as he slammed into her mercilessly. "Jax." She moaned out.

Jax lifted her off the dresser, carrying her to the bed and laying her down on her back as he climbed between her legs. He trailed a finger down her labia and smirked as she shuddered. "So fucking beautiful Noelle." He placed a pillow under her lower back and gripped her hips as he slammed back into her. His body colliding with hers, filling their room with a slapping sound.

He moved his hands up her bottom, roughly tugging on her nipples as rocked into her. The feeling of being inside her inching him closer to insanity. He pulled out of her and flipped her over, grabbing her waist and bringing her up on her hands and knees as he moved off the bed and toward his rucksack. "Brought something special." He moved back towards the bed and pulled her to the edge of it. He lifted his arm and moved it swiftly through the air, smiling as the paddle connected with Noelle's ass, leaving a bright red mark behind.

Noelle crossed her legs at her ankles and shook her feet as she moaned out. "God!" She wiggled her ass and looked back at Jax, smirking as the paddle made contact with her ass again. The stinging sensation making her even wetter and hornier. "Harder…" She buried her face into the pillow and shuddered as the paddle connected two more times before she felt his hands rub her ass.

He chuckled, smiling at his handy work before he guided his cock to her pussy and pushed in as he spread her ass, watching his cock move in and out of his wife. "Shouldn't like that shit so fucking much slut." He groaned as he felt her walls squeeze his cock. "Fuck…" He smacked her ass with his hand before pulling her tightly against him. Slowing his pace down as he watched her shake her head in protest. "What? You don't want to slow it down?"

"Fuck me!" She wiggled her ass against him before starting a rhythmic motion, slamming back against him as he slammed completely into her. She whimpered every time he bottomed out. Her nails clawing at the sheets as she bit her lip and hissed when she tasted a drop of blood. "Fuck Jax…"

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her up on her knees. "Cum for me Noe." He tugged roughly on her hair as he bucked into her, feeling her walls contract around his aching cock. "Get there babe." He let her hair go and watched her drop back to her hands, her body shuddering slightly as he continued his pace. His thumb brushing over her asshole and getting the reaction he wanted. Her body trembling even more as he felt her soak him and the bed. "Fuck." He grunted as he pounded into her as he felt his balls tighten before emptying himself inside of her.

"That was pretty amazing." Noelle panted as she pushed her damp hair out of her face and stared at Jax who was wiping himself down with his shirt. "Best wedding night ever, even though my ass is going to be sore tomorrow."

Jax chuckled. "Won't be the first time." He laid down next to her and draped an arm over her midsection as he stared at her profile. "That's the only thing I really packed."

"It was a good thing to pack." She turned her head to look at him. "I can't believe we're married Jackson. It still feels all surreal but I'm so fucking happy that we did this."

"Well we are and you officially have the dumbed name ever. Noelle Teller. Something about that _e-l-l-e_." He ran his thumb over her cheek and kissed her softly. "Get some sleep, I'll be waking you up soon for round two."

Noelle closed her eyes and relaxed against his body. "You better wake me up with something fucking fantastic… Like that mouth of yours." She smiled. "I'll be anxiously awaiting that wake up call."

 **SOA**

When Jax originally planned on waking up his new wife, he didn't think he'd end up sitting with her in the bathroom for two hours, waiting for her stomach to settle. He shook his head, looking at Noelle who was now sitting with her head resting against the tub. "You feeling better Noe?" He reached out and felt her forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever."

Noelle looked at him and groaned. "I don't think I'm that type of sick." She slowly stood up from her spot on the floor and looked at him. "I think I may be pregnant Jax." She frowned as she turned on the cold water and began to splash her face.

"Pregnant?" He looked at her briefly before grabbing a towel off the hook and wiping her face dry with it. "Is that happy news?"

She shrugged. "It is if you want another kid to toss into the mix."

"Never thought about it to be honest." He sat down on the edge of the tub and pulled her to him, letting her take a seat on his lap as he pushed the hair off her face. "I hope the baby is a boy this time, since we're on the verge of moving out of Charming and starting a fresh life in a whole new city and state."

Noelle smiled and nodded. "I'm excited for you to see the house… It's gorgeous and perfect. It's got a lot of room, so it'll fit a third child easily." She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, trying to ward off another round of unwanted nausea. "I am not looking forward to this again… It seems worse than what it was when we were pregnant with Nelly."

"So much for round two." Jax shook his head as he stood, cradling the sick brunette as he walked back into the room and laid her on the bed. "We'll just take it easy until you feel better, then I'm not showing now mercy on you. Pregnant or not, we still have our whole honeymoon ahead of us and I plan on being buried balls deep in that pussy." He kissed her and laid down next her.

"I'll make it up to you… I still have my bag of goodies. I swear as soon as this feeling fades, we'll grab the bag and see what we can do." She smiled at him and rubbed the pads of her thumbs over his eyebrows as she placed a kiss to his nose. "I'm looking forward to you showing no mercy on me… It's been awhile, I thought you were going soft."

He scoffed and pinched her side. "I'm not going soft… Just for that, I got the perfect punishment for that remark."

Noelle smiled and rolled her eyes. "I can't wait to get this _punishment_."

He shook his head and flicked her nose. "Take a nap Noelle…"

 **SOA**

"Noelle." Jax stood over the brunette as he pulled his shirt over his head. "Noe… I gotta head out, something came up." He watched her wave him off before sitting up in the bed and looking at him. "Sorry." He cupped the back of her head and kissed her. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Wait, what?" Noelle looked at him and frowned. "You're leaving me? Babe, it's the second day of our honeymoon…"

"Club needs me. I'm sorry." He gave her another kiss before moving back to shrug into his kutte. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Enjoy yourself though, everything is paid for. Go to the spa and get a massage."

She shook her head and flipped over. "Whatever." She cuddled up with the pillows. "Be safe Jax."

Jax groaned before sitting back on the bed and pulling the brunette to him. "I don't wanna leave, believe me Noelle. I have to, there's some shit going bad with out sister charters and as a president I have to do what I can to help them out. Especially since I plan on telling the guys I'm leaving the club when we go home." He kissed her lips and rested his forehead against hers. "Enjoy your time here, it's a nice vacation. Spoil yourself, I gave you cash."

"You don't even have time to work me over?" Noelle smirked at him. "I guess I'll have to handle myself while I take a nice relaxing bath."

He shook his head, his hand moving between her legs before squeezing her thighs. "I'm sorry. Use that bag of goodies over there… I took a peek, there's some fun looking things in it." He slid her off his lap and stood up. "I'll be back babe. I promise." He kissed her one last time before moving out of the suite. He hated tearing himself away from her but he owed it to the club to help out one last time before he turned in his kutte and resignation.

* * *

 **Yeah I know this chapter was short but I wanted to keep it simple after reading through the original draft. There was just way too much jumping around. This also sets up for the next chapter in the couple's life.**


	13. Making Up

Jax shook his head and moved into the house he shared with his family. Unlike the promise he made to Noelle, he had never made it back to the honeymoon. Instead he found himself scrambling to bail his brothers out of jail. Leading to a major headache and another debt the club would have to find a way to pay back. He shrugged out of his kutte and hung it on the hook as he moved down the hall and into the bedroom, finding his wife sitting up in bed. "Noelle."

"Jackson." Noelle looked up from her book. "Surprised to see you here… Thought club business would keep you away from me a few more days." She closed the book and set it on the nightstand, her eyes following his every movement as he undressed to his boxers.

He frowned and climbed into bed with her, wrapping his arms around her hips as he rested his head against her stomach. "I'm sorry babe, things didn't go as smoothly as I thought they'd go… A couple of brothers ended up getting arrested."

She nodded and reached over to her nightstand and grabbed a piece of paper and passed it to him. "Went to get it done this morning…"

Jax sat up and looked at the paper and smirked. "I guess we're adding another body to the house… Thankfully we're moving into a bigger place then huh?" He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her neck. "Little mistake number 2."

Noelle smacked him. "Janelle wasn't a mistake. She was an unexpected blessing and I love her so damn much… I hope we have another girl, just to annoy you… Oh, you so owe me an entire honeymoon and I won't let you forget it."

"I know babe… I'll be making it up to you." He kissed her and laid back on the bed. "I hope we have a son. I wanna see what that mash up would look like. Maybe he'll look like me? Or maybe your genes will conquer again."

"You gave her the smirk, the one blue eye and her charm." She pulled the blanket over their bodies and yawned. "I'm going to sleep."

 **SOA**

"Jesus Christ!" Janelle wrapped her tiny arms around Jax's leg and looked up at him. "Daddy! I want a toy dinosaur!"

Jax picked her up and set her in the cart. "You like dinosaurs?"

"Yeah!" The tiny brunette clapped her hands and smiled. "T-Rex daddy! Dinosaurs." She pulled on the front of his shirt and pointed. "Toys!"

He shrugged and cocked his head at the two year old. "How do you know where the toys are in this place?" He looked around the store and groaned. Noelle was making him pay for missing the honeymoon. She had given him a list of errands and the task to complete them all while taking care of Janelle. "You know where the garbage bags are kid?"

"There!" She pointed to the aisle behind her and nodded. "Bags!"

"I have no damn idea what I'm doing." He started towards the aisle his daughter pointed to and was surprised to find that the bags were indeed in the aisle. "I guess you pay attention to everything… You can get that toy, when we get everything on this list." He passed her the shopping list. "Can you write your name?"

Janelle furrowed her brow and shook her head. "I'm Janelle!"

"What? You're not Jax?" He shook his head and smirked as she started to smile at him. "I never thought I'd be grocery shopping with a kid… Up until I met your mom, my mom was still buying me groceries… Pathetic huh?"

"You're Jax!" She grabbed at his hands and giggled. "Hi daddy! Bye daddy! Daddy! Juice! Some juice? Please, please?"

He nodded and chuckled at the way the words were coming out of her mouth. A little chopped but understandable. "Yeah, yeah. We'll get some juice for you…" He moved out of the aisle only to bump into another cart. "Sorry." He mumbled as the owner of the cart looked at him.

"Jax." Tara nodded at him.

"Tara." He shook his head and eyed her. "Noelle told me about the wedding mishap between you and her… You pull that shit again, you'll have more to worry about than getting your fucking hair pulled. Got it?"

"Very nice, threatening me in front of your daughter." The brunette shook her head. "You're a real class act Teller."

Jax rolled his eyes. "Watch your back doc…" He glared at her before pushing the cart towards the next aisle. "We're looking for juice right baby girl?"

"Yes!" Janelle clapped and smiled. "Juice!"

 **SOA**

"You look beat down." Noelle crawled onto the bed and looked at her husband with a satisfied grin. "Errands with Nelly wasn't as easy as you thought they'd be huh? She wore you out with her talking and energy."

Jax shook his head. "She talked the whole time… I could understand most of it. She cried when she didn't get the dinosaur toy she wanted, then I had to find a employee to locate it for her, then she was happy. I had to run back into the store because I forgot so much shit on the list . I don't even know how you manage to do that shit weekly. Grocery shopping isn't for me, picking up dry cleaning isn't for me. SIGNING HER UP FOR BALLET WAS THE MOST STRESSFUL SHIT I'VE DEALT WITH IN YEARS!"

"Oh man. I wish I would have been there when you walked into the dance studio." The brunette moved up her husband's body and straddled his legs. "I'm proud of you for getting through the day, even if you are super tired." She pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it towards the hamper.

He smirked and started to sit back up, only to have the brunette push him back down on the bed. "It's gonna be like that huh?" He slowly moved his hands up her thighs and settled them on her hips.

"Yeah… Just like that." She grabbed his arms and pinned them above his head. "I'm in charge tonight. You're mine." She smirked as she cuffed his hands to the headboard.

Jax groaned and watched his wife carefully as he tugged on the cuffs. "You know I hate handing over my power to you Noelle…"

"Too bad!" She laughed and moved off his body and over towards her dresser. "We're gonna have some major fun…"

"How is it gonna be fun if I'm cuffed to the bed?" He shook his head and watched as she wiggled out of her sweat pants.

Noelle shrugged and looked at her husband. "It's going to be more fun for me than it'll be for you. I know how hands on you are…"

Jax frowned and watched her climb back onto the bed, straddling his legs just above his crotch. "Go easy on me, I'm not used to being in this position…" He tugged on the cuffs again.

She nodded. "It'll be just like when you eased me into it… Baby steps." She pressed soft kisses to his chest before smirking. "Hey, hey, no moving around sweetie…" She groaned as she heard a loud pounding on the front door. "What the fuck!?" She rolled off Jax and released his hands from the cuffs, watching him quickly grab his gun and tuck it into the waistband of his boxers. "We're continuing this shit later…"

He shook his head before moving out of the bedroom and towards the sound of the pounding, he looked through the window before pulling open the door and watching Opie stalk into the house, his two kids in tow. "Jesus Christ Ope, we thought you were some jackass trying to cause trouble."

Opie shook his head. "Sorry… Mary just dropped them off at the clubhouse... Wandering if they could crash here until I come home from my run. I wouldn't ask you and Noelle for this favor but you're the only other two I trust."

Jax nodded. "Yeah, man. They can crash in the living room… The sofas pull out."

"What's happening?" Noelle walked into the living room, Janelle perched on her hip. "Hey Ellie, Kenny." She smiled at the kids.

"I need you two to watch the kids while I head out on a run." Opie looked at Noelle as she set Janelle down. "I don't mean to impose."

The brunette waved him off. "It's fine, they know where the extra blankets and pillows are and how to pull the sofas out… This won't be the first time that they're crashing here."

He cocked an eyebrow at Noelle. "They're spent the night before?"

"Yeah." Noelle nodded. "They were at the clubhouse one night and I invited them to sleep over and we stayed up late and watched movies."

Opie nodded. "That's cool… I'll be back in three days." He hugged the brunette before hugging his son and daughter. "Behave."

Jax followed Opie out of the house and towards his car. "Be safe on the run Ope, sorry I'm not going with you. Promised the wife I'd spend a couple days just being a family man for missing out on the honeymoon."

"No problem." He hugged his best friend. "Go be a husband."

"Jackson." Noelle pulled her husband down the hall the moment he walked into their home. "I wanna know when we can do that one thing… Since sex is obviously out of the question. The house thing…"

Jax nodded and closed the bedroom door behind them. "Have you talked to your agent about it recently?"

"Yeah, it's in the closing process… It's _ours_." The brunette sat on the bed and smiled. "Jax, I'm excited to move and have a new baby to add to the brood."

He tugged her onto his lap and kissed her neck as he thought about the big news. The house was theirs, all he needed to do was handle business on his end and whisk his family out of the state. To start their lives over without the drama or the danger. "Wow… That's huge."

Noelle nodded. "I know! I'm so happy about this." She turned around and straddled his legs. "The new baby will never know this life or the craziness with it…We're about to have a whole new life babe."

 **SOA**

Jax walked through the doors of St. Thomas, his hands shoved in his pockets as he took the stairs up to the floor his mom was currently on. He wanted to see for himself, just how stubborn the woman was being about letting go. He didn't quite understand what she had left to live for. She lost everything, the only son she had left, the grandchildren she claimed to love, most of all she had lost the respect of nearly every member of the club. He moved into the room, seeing his mom sitting up slightly in bed. "Gemma."

Gemma looked slightly at her son, the best she could. She was surprised to see him there but she wasn't surprised that he locked the door behind him and drew the blinds. "J-Jax."

He rolled his eyes and stepped closer to her. "Leave it to you to get shot in the neck and be living three weeks later. Don't know what the fuck you're so bent on fighting for. You lost Gemma, you tried to break up my family and you lost. Give it up… I almost didn't believe Tara when she told me you were still holding on. I thought for sure you'd go peacefully, just close your eyes and slip away."

"H-how's Abel?" She pressed on her neck as she continued to watch her son's every move with scrutiny. Half waiting for him to pull out a knife or needle to end her life right then and there.

Jax shrugged. "He's good, loves his _mommy_." He grinned as he started looking at the various tubes and machines his mom was hooked up to. "Morphine huh?" He poked at the IV bag before looking back at Gemma. "I'd let you suffer… Pain and all but I guess that emotional pain you're going through is eating at you more than physical pain ever will." He reached into his kutte, chuckling as Gemma flinched. "You really think I'd kill you right now? Too fucking suspicious, I got a wife and kids to care for, can't be going to jail for some petty murder. Now that I think of it, you dying right now would be too fucking easy on you."

Gemma looked at the piece of paper in Jax's hand and reached out for it. "A baby?"

He nodded. "Yeah. One that you'll never get to know and will be raised believing they only have a Grandma Blair… You can keep that. It'll be a reminder of everything you've lost and will continue to lose because you couldn't let me be happy and live my life the way I wanted to." He moved back towards the door, pulling up the blinds and unlocking it before turning back to look at her one last time. "You're nothing to me anymore."


	14. Resignation

**Thank you to those of you who left reviews. I always love reading them. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. It's been a long time coming.**

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Jax sat at the head of the redwood, twisting the gavel in his hands as he waited for his brothers to file into the chapel. It was the day he was working up to for the last few weeks. He was going to tell him he was leaving the club. He was going to tell them he had to do what he needed for his family, for himself. For Noelle, Janelle, Abel and the new baby on the way. Most of all he had to do what he could to save what was left of him. To start fresh in a new city, new state. A new life for the new man he was set on becoming.

He smiled and nodded at each one of the men who took their seat, even allowing the prospects inside for the vote and the announcement. He watched as Chibs filled the last seat and smiled one last time as the door shut. "Thank you guys for coming in on short notice."

Chibs nodded. "What is it Jackie boy?"

He exhaled as he looked at his vice president. "I have a big announcement to make… It's about my position in the club." He set the gavel down and rolled his shoulders back, reminding himself what was going to come of him leaving the club. The life he wanted and the life his family was deserving of. "I want to resign as president."

"We seen that coming." Chibs sat back in his chair and smirked. "You sure about this Jackson?"

Jax nodded. "Yes. I've done all that I could with the position. This isn't who I am or what I want my life to be anymore. I have a family to think of and I don't need anyone going after them for some beef that I have. I want to resign now while the club is finally in good standing. This club is out of every illegal activity, it's making money. I have no qualms about leaving it in the hands of Chibs. If he wants to take over and be president, which will move Tig up to Vice."

"I'm up for it." Chibs nodded again before leaning forward to look at Tig. "What do ya say Tig? Ya gonna be my V.P?"

Tig smiled. "Yeah." He cocked his head to look at Jax. "We're gonna miss you man."

"I'm gonna miss each and everyone of you… I know we'll see each other often. You can come annoy my wife in the new house." Jax chuckled. "I know I'll be seeing Hap the most though…"

Happy smirked and shook his head as he moved the toothpick between his lips. "You did marry my kid." He crossed his arms and shrugged. "I know I don't have to remind you to protect her and keep her and those kids safe."

Jax nodded. "I'll do that happily." He stood up and removed his kutte, laying it on the table in front of him before he pulled his knife from the sheath on his right side. "I won't be needing this anymore." He sat back down and quickly removed the patches from the leather, passing the president patch to Chibs before folding up the kutte and trying to pass it to Bobby who waved him off.

"Keep it." Bobby shook his head. "The club is in your blood, your old man built this. He'd be proud to see how far it's come. Take that with you. Save it as a reminder of where you came from and what you spent most of your adult life doing. You can't wear it but at least you'll always have it as a token."

The biker smiled. "Thanks Bobby." He stood up, watching his brothers stand up with him. "I love all of you… It's going to be hard not having you guys around all the time but I can't just be stuck in Charming anymore. It's home but my heart is elsewhere."

Opie was the first one to Jax, pulling him into a tight hug. "Take care brotha… I'll be in touch real soon."

Jax smiled. "You better be or Noe will kick your ass." He chuckled as he moved on to hug the rest of the men he spent his life around. " You guys need to stop by and get in your hugs and talks with the kids before we leave."

"We'll have a going away party here!" Juice shouted. "Can't let you go without one Jax… Let us throw it. More for us than for you but still."

The blonde laughed and nodded. "I'll let you guys throw it… We'll have one last blow out before I start packing up to move."

"Where are you guys moving to anyway?" Juice asked as the whole room fell silent. "Or is it top secret?"

Jax shook his head. "After much debating between Colorado and California, we're staying in Cali, just moving down to Orange County… Like I said, we'll see each other often."

Happy smiled. "I knew she'd choose that house…"

"I'm happy because it's a big enough change to where it won't feel the same as Charming. I'm good with not being up here anymore. It's far enough away to feel like a new life." He smiled. "That reminds me, I'm supposed to be telling you fuckers good news! Noelle is pregnant."

"Congrats!" Chibs hugged Jax. "You better hope for a boy, another pretty girl like Nelly and you'll be in some serious trouble."

Jax laughed. "I'm hoping for another son and we'll be set for life… No more kids!" He looked at his family and sighed. "I guess this means I have to votes needed to resign."

"Of course." Tig grabbed Jax and kissed his head. "We'd never vote against you wanting to leave and make a life that's safe for your family… You've gotten us out of so much shit and on the right path, we can take it from here. We love you kid."

"I love your crazy asses too. Thanks for being my family, I look forward to visits." Jax nodded slowly. "You guys better keep your shit in order… We put in blood, sweat and tears to make this work, to make this something amazing. Keep it that way, no guns, no drugs, no agents knocking down the front door."

 **SOA**

"It's done." Jax looked down at Noelle who was folding clothes on the living room floor. "I'm out of the club… We're free to pack up and leave this place babe." He smiled as he watched the information sink in.

The brunette turned and looked at her husband instensly. "Seriously Jackson? You did it?" She stood up and moved towards him, her arms wrapping around his waist as she rested her face against his chest. "Wow, I'm so excited and proud babe."

He nodded and lifted her up, wrapping her legs around him. "It's done, we're free to go and start our life over… They let me keep my leather as a momento. I'm out of the club darlin' we are out of this life. We can rest easy and be as normal of a family as we can be."

Noelle nodded her head enthusiastically. "We're going to need lots of boxes and cleaning supplies unless you wanna keep this house if you ever come and visit Opie… I know how close the two of you are… Babe, you can let Ope and the kids move into this house. It'll help them out a lot, you know with the whole money situation and all. It could be good, you won't have to try to sell this house."

"I'll see if Opie wants the house." He laughed and sat down on the sofa, his hands instantly resting on her still flat abdomen. "I'm hoping for a little boy… One who can wrestle around with Abel and Nelly can boss around."

The brunette laughed. "She'll be the best big sister ever. I can see it already but I can also see her being _too_ bossy."

"That'd be cute though." He shrugged and kissed her lips quickly. "I'm just ready for a bigger house and more space… I think I'm gonna still work on bikes in my free time."

"Oh, what's the new Jackson gonna do for his career though?" Noelle ran her fingers through his blonde tresses and kissed his forehead. "You wanna write? Own a shop? Stay at home like I do and try your hand at scrapbooking and knitting?"

Jax shook his head. "I'm not entirely sold on knitting and scrapbooking… I'm thinking of maybe trying an online college class, maybe writing. I'm not sure, I'm just working through this whole situation. I'm out of the club, I'm about to be a dad again, I'm married. I have something to be proud of, I have a life my dad would be proud of."

"Crocheting is supposed to be fun as well." She smiled. "College huh? I can see that, I can also see all the barely legal coeds going crazy when you step on campus to sign up and enroll in your classes… Oh, we could find one that's entirely online, you wouldn't even need to go to the campus or whatever."

"I've had enough of the being on campus when you were going to school… It was always awkward to be on campus." He shrugged. "You find me a school and I'll see what classes interest me."

Noe laughed. "You were the big man on campus, the girls went crazy over you… Loved the look of a bad boy on campus." She tugged on his hair and smirked. "I'm glad it's growing back out babe. I like the longer hair."

"I don't wanna hear it." He shook his head. "You always gave me shit about cutting it and now you want it back long… So damn picky." He worked his hands under her shirt and slowly rubbed her lower back. "The guys wanna throw a going away party… You know how they are, a party for any damn occasion." He lightly kissed her neck and smirked as she shivered in his grasp.

"But I secretly always loved your long blonde hair… So soft, now you keep trying to slick it back with product and I'm not loving it… I tossed the product in the trash this morning…" She shrugged and looked into his blue orbs and smirked. "Of course they wanna have a going away party. I'm gonna miss all of 'em. Especially Hap but I know I'll see him."

"I'm offended." Jax rolled his eyes and smirked. "Pretty sure I paid good money for that shit." He stood up, with her still wrapped around him and walked into the kitchen and set her on the counter. "I'd offer you a celebratory beer but you're knocked up."

"You said it yourself, it's shit." She rolled her eyes. "You can hand me one of our daughter's juice boxes before you close the fridge. I'm thinking that she's on the right track when she always asks for juice."

"I don't even wanna see another juice box." He passed his wife the box and shook his head slowly. "I've never seen so many fucking types of juice in my life… It's not an aisle I'll be walking down anytime soon."

"Poor baby, you went grocery shopping once and you're traumatized by juice." Noelle chuckled and slid off the counter. "That reminds me, when we get into the new house, you're gonna need to sign her up for the ballet lessons… I don't know why I signed her up for classes up here. I'm gonna claim pregnancy brain."

"Oh no." Jax shook his head. "Let's go." He picked up the brunette and draped her over his shoulder, landing a firm smack to her ass before moving out of the kitchen. "We got some fun to catch up on."

"I think your daughter has a different idea." Noelle watched her daughter leave her bedroom, her tiny hands rubbing her eyes. "What's wrong Janelle?"

"Daddy!" Janelle smiled. "Daddy, up!"

"Well, excuse me." The brunette scoffed. "She just ignored me." She shook her head as Jax set her down on her feet.

Jax groaned before picking up his daughter. "Let's go to sleep, you should be asleep. Do you need to be changed?" He checked her and shrugged. "We're good to go… Noe, don't think you're escaping that fun… I'll be waiting for it in the morning."

Noelle nodded as they all dropped onto the bed. "I'm hoping you'll be wanting it in the morning because I want it too… Goodnight my loves." She pulled her daughter close and yawned. Their lives were finally going the way they wanted them to and she couldn't have been more proud of her husband for keeping his promise. He was out of the club and they would be moving away in no time.


	15. One Last Memory

"Thanks for coming out." Opie smiled as he passed Jax a beer. "It's good to be seeing one of us getting out of this shit and making a better life for our kids."

Jax nodded and took a sip of the beer before smiling. "It could be reality for you too… Just say the word and you know you and the kids can move down with us. We can be neighbors, Noe says the house across the street is for sale."

"I don't have that type of record to be buying a damn house." He shook his head and chuckled. "I wish though. It'd be good for them to be in a house where we don't have to worry about bills and shit man."

"Noe wants you three to move into our place when we leave. It's all paid for, she even managed to pay utilities ahead of time. You'd only ever had to pay if you went over what she already paid for. It wouldn't be too much. It'd hurt her feelings if you declined the offer." Jax shrugged and smirked as he drank his beer. "Think about it Ope, it'll be good for you and the kids to be in the house. It's worry free, Ellie can even turn that damn craft shack in the backyard into something for her and her friends to hang out in."

Opie nodded. "I can't refuse the offer… The kids are going to love that. El, she loves the color of Nelly's room already."

Jax patted his arm and chuckled. "I hate that color so fucking much… I told her to have the new room painted something normal like white or yellow. None of that fancy shit." He looked towards the door and smiled as Noelle walked through, wearing the same type of dress she wore when he brought her to the clubhouse for the first time. "Damn, I'll be back. I gotta get her covered up!" He grabbed another beer and moved to his wife. "Don't think I've seen this dress before, is it new slut?"

Noelle smiled and nodded. "Yup, bought it just for the occasion… Thinking we can make one last memory on the roof together. Who knows when we'll both be back here."

He smirked, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her to him. "I'm down for that…" He rubbed her side as he started steering them towards the hallway that led to the ladder. "You look so damn good in that dress."

"Do I?" She started up the ladder and looked down at him and smirked. "I knew you'd love the view."

Jax lowered the hatch when he reached the roof. "You're so bad… We're supposed to be down there saying our goodbyes but you wanna be up here being all sexy and slutty." He held her hips and kissed her neck softly. "You're perfect."

Noelle nodded and smiled as he lifted her onto the air conditioner. "Well, I thought I'd put this on and see if I still looked good. I didn't think it'd fit but thankfully the baby bump is not going to pop up for a little while longer."

"Keep forgetting that I knocked you up again." He smirked as he rested his hands on her thighs and rubbed them slowly. "It better be a boy."

She shrugged. "I wouldn't be opposed to a blonde haired, blue eyed little girl." She slipped her hands under his shirt and smirked up at him. "Which reminds me, my mom wants you to stop by her office when you have time. She tried calling you but you didn't answer your phone. I guess there's some issues with the paperwork, missing signature probably."

He nodded, not giving the statement a second thought as he stared at the gorgeous brunette. "I'll stop in and get it all squared away."

"Good." She nodded before playfully catching his bottom lip between her teeth and tugging on it slightly. "I've gotta say, you've changed a lot since our first rooftop escapade."

Jax shook his head. "I'm still the same… I just learned when to be super aggressive and when to tone it down." He gathered her hair in his hand and tugged on it roughly. "Can't be doing this type of shit around the kids. Don't need my daughter thinking any man can lay her hands on her in this way."

"Gotta learn the difference between abuse and BDSM." She smiled and wrapped her legs around his waist. "I'm actually gonna miss Charming a little bit." She pulled him closer and rested her face against his chest.

He shrugged. "I thought we were coming up here to fuck not be all sappy with each other."

Noelle sighed. "I thought the same exact thing until we got up here and I saw that beautiful night sky and realized that we're moving and you're leaving this life you grew up in for me and our children. I'm so blessed to have you in my life."

Jax smiled and sat next to her as he took her hand in his, absentmindedly playing with the ring on her finger. "I'm the one who is blessed… You've stuck with me through this all , even my crazy ass mother."

She nodded and kissed his cheek. "We're blessed and apparently getting old because we're not fucking right now."

He chuckled. "We're not getting old. We're nostalgic right now babe. Sitting up here making one last memory before we start our new lives down in Orange County… A place I never thought I'd be living at."

"Oh, you're going to love it." Noelle nodded emphatically. "The beach is practically in our backyard, the schools are good for Abel, there are plenty of activities to become involved in. I think it'll take a little time for you to adjust but I have faith."

He lazily rubbed circles on the back of her hand and smiled. "I don't even know how to dress normally for Cali weather… I've been in layers for years."

"Relax, I got everything under control." She stood up and pulled him to his feet. "First off, no more hoodies unless it's cold, no more flannels unless it's cold, you can keep everything else but I think you're gonna wanna start wearing shorts and not jeans all the time. You can keep the Nikes though."

Jax groaned. "I don't even know what to say…"

"Just let it all sink in baby." She tugged on his hoody and smiled. "It's not as daunting as it sounds. You can always keep your layers if it makes you comfortable. Don't change your attire if you don't wanna."

He nodded. "It's all I've known." He buried his face in her neck and lifted her up. "Let's go back down and you can pretend I ravaged you and we didn't just sit up here and talk."

"Do I look ravaged? Are my eyes glazed over and is my hair a mess?" Noelle looked at her husband and kissed his lips before pulling away with a smile. "If anyone asks, I felt too sick to fuck because of the bun in the oven."

Jax went down the ladder first, waiting at the bottom with his arms crossed as he watched Noelle come back down and straighten out her dress before braiding her hair off to the side. "Let's get you a bottle of water." He wrapped his arms around her and started towards the barroom, seeing his brothers laughing and having fun. "They didn't even notice we were gone, guaranteed."

"Well, that's pretty fucked up." She laughed and looked around the room before lurching forward as Jax tugged her towards the bar and clearing a seat for her. "Thanks babe."

He nodded before sitting down next to her. "She'll have a water, I'll take a beer." He smiled at the blonde behind the bar before turning his back the moment she passed him the beer. His blue orbs scanning the crowd, making sure he took mental pictures of the mess his brothers were. Etching every smile into his face, knowing he'd need something to get him through the last week in Charming.

Noelle turned to look at her husband, taking in the way he was staring at the club he called family his whole life. "You're not losing your family… You can always come back for visits and they can always visit us."

"I know." Jax looked at her and kissed her. "I'm just gathering one last memory of this crazy ass bunch."

"Go get drunk with your brothers Jackson. Have fun, make more memories, you can sleep in tomorrow and I'll make you a good breakfast before we start packing shit up." She pushed him off of the stool and towards the pool table. "Go!" She smiled as he nodded back at her before swaggering off towards the guys. "Lord, we're in trouble." She mumbled as she sipped her water.

 **SOA**

Noelle huffed as she dragged the last bundle of moving boxes into the house. She knew she shouldn't have been doing so much work but she was eager to start the packing process. It was a constant source of excitement and stress. A new life with her little family but it was stressful because part of her knew that part of her husband didn't actually want to leave the MC but the other part wanted to because he knew he could be so much more than what he had settled for.

"Alright, where's the packaging tape?" She tapped on her chin as she looked at the mess she managed to make in the middle of the living room. "Come on, tell me you're around here somewhere." She looked around the living room, her eyes landing on the tape sitting on top of the mantel. "Ah-ha!"

"What in the world?" Jax paused in the living before shaking his head and continuing on to the kitchen, pushing the idea of packing out of his mind as he tried to cure his hangover. "Where'd all the boxes come from?"

"I bought them." She walked into the kitchen and eyed him. "I made you breakfast, it's in the oven. It's probably cold but it'll taste good reheated."

He nodded and opened the oven and pulled out the plate before setting it in the microwave. "You're that excited to move that you're throwing doctor's rules out the window?"

Noelle shook her head. "They weren't even that heavy. It's empty cardboard." She shrugged. "Don't worry, I'll let you handle all the heavy lifting."

Jax smirked. "The kids here? Or does Blair have 'em?"

She nodded. "They should be home in fifteen minutes, I missed my babies so damn much Jax. You don't understand." She trailed her fingers through her hair that had managed to fall out of it's bun. "I also told my mom to just bring the paperwork over here for you to read and sign."

"Good because I wasn't going to be able to make it into Oakland today to sign any paperwork." He sighed. "It tastes good though… Sorry I wasn't awake to enjoy it with you earlier."

"I figured. You were wrecked last night and I'm surprised you woke up now." She pulled open the fridge and passed him a juice box and bottle of water. "No more beer."

"Juice." He laughed at the small box looked tiny in his large hand. "I don't see how she loves this stuff so much. Is it even healthy for her to be drinking all the time?"

Noelle nodded. "That's all organic, no sugar added. She thinks it's the best thing in life. You however, you may wince and spit it out because you're used too all the sugary crap we grew up on."

"You act like we're the same age sometimes." He shook his head. "We're a solid…" He stopped mid sentence when he saw Janelle bounce towards him with a scowl on her face. "Hey darlin'!" He smiled down at the tiny brunette. "Where's your brother and grandma?"

Janelle held out her tiny hand. "That's my juice!" She grabbed at it, pouting as soon as he moved the juice out of her reach. "Mine!"

Jax shook his head. "This one is mine! Get your own!" He laughed before looking at Noelle who was biting back a smile. "This is my juice!"

"Mommy!" The brunette looked back. "Juice?"

Noelle nodded. "I'll grab you one, that's your daddy's." She opened the fridge and passed the girl a juice box. "Did you have fun with Grandma?"

"She was a holy terror." Blair dropped her briefcase on the kitchen table before moving to her daughter and giving her a tight hug. "Abel was a dream… Janelle thought she was a fighter or something. Hitting and kicking Happy."

"Happy cried!" Janelle smiled proudly up at the adults. "He's a crybaby!"

"There she goes, talking shit again." Happy stalked into the kitchen and picked Janelle up, grabbing her juice box as he held her upside down by her ankles. "I told you, I was going to have my revenge."

Noelle laughed and watched him stalk back out of the space. "I don't even wanna know what he's gonna do… Probably gonna sit and drink her juice and make her watch…"

Blair shrugged. "I need Jax to listen to me right now… You sober enough right now dear?"

Jax nodded. "Yes mom." He smiled at her. "What's wrong now? I thought Wendy signed everything that she needed to and same with me."

She nodded. "The court pulled the DNA test results and wants to issue their own because the test was done by Tara Knowles. They want to pick a doctor with no personal relationships with you all to do the test. They want to make sure everything is good."

He shrugged. "I'm fine with that. Set it up before we leave town."

"Alright." Blair nodded. "You two need anything from us? We can help pack."

Noelle shook her head. "No, we're good. We're not even going to start packing today. Jax needs more rest. Go outside and make sure Happy doesn't toss Janelle into a tree or stick her on the shed's roof again."

Jax smirked at he watched the blonde walk out of the kitchen. "Those two are the weirdest pairing. Those two are the best grandparents though. Happy is embracing the whole kids and grandkids thing."

The brunette nodded. "I love how my mom treats you like a baby! She doesn't even baby my ass anymore."

He shrugged. "I'm just absolutely loveable by all women over forty."

She smacked his chest. "You're terrible!" She rolled her eyes and moved between his legs. "I'm so ready for a damn nap." Noelle smiled up at him. "Melody and Kozik are coming down for a visit before we leave… I think she said Kozik is thinking of transferring to Redwood."

Jax nodded. "He'll be a good fit over there, to fill in the seat I left open. Let's get you down for that nap, then I'll start taping those damn boxes together." They walked into the living room, Noelle dropping into the oversized recliner and pulling the blanket over her. "Go to sleep… I'll see you when you wake up." He sat on the edge of the sofa and picked up the packaging tape, hoping that the numbing task of taping boxes would keep his mind off how much closer he was to starting his new life over. A life he was going to make into everything he wanted his first try to be like.

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 **sorry for the delay in updates. I was doing what I could to get my other two stories squared away... I'm so excited to get them all moved and settled into their new life!**


	16. Testing The Waters

"This is the house huh?" Jax slipped his raybans off and stuck him in his pocket as he eyed the massive home in front of him. The pictures Noelle had shown him didn't even do it justice, this was bigger, grander, and imposing. He was no longer in Charming, in the single story home he had spent most of his adult life avoiding until he got serious with Noelle. No, he was in a whole different venue, he was in Orange County, a city that was the complete opposite of his home town. "Show me the inside."

Noelle nodded and slipped her hand into her husband's and smiled before pausing at the sound of a rumbling engine. "Don't tell me one of your brothers followed us down here babe." They both turned and looked at the street, taking notice of the Harley that was pulling in across the street. "I guess our neighbor is one of those weekend riders babe."

He smirked and shook his head. "Yeah… I guess he is." He tugged her towards the front door. "The kids gonna be here soon? I can't believe your mom agreed to drive down here with them to help us get settled in."

She shrugged and unlocked the front door of their new home. "Maybe you can school the neighbor on proper attire… He's wearing more leather than Chibs." She chuckled as she slipped off her Nikes and walked further into the house. "Isn't it gorgeous babe!?"

"Don't think I can help that guy." Jax looked around and nodded slowly. "It's pretty big but I'm loving it. I wanna see the garage."

The brunette nodded and grabbed ahold of his hand again and tugged him through the house and into the garage before turning the lights on. "Surprise!"

"Wow." He looked around the garage and smiled. "You buy it like this or did you turn the garage into my very own workshop darlin'?"

"Turned it into one." She shrugged. "I just wanted to make you a space that was solely yours. You can work on stuff in here or you can drink in here… Whatever you wanna do in here, it's your space just how I had my little shed thingy."

He smiled wider before turning to look at his wife. "Me and both of my boys are gonna be working on cars in here…" He rubbed her stomach. "I know I'm getting another son."

Noelle laughed. "Don't forget about your princess… She may wanna learn how to work on a car too."

He nodded slowly. "Could never forget about her… I was assuming she'd be living it up, going to ballet practice and playing with her dolls."

"That's probably true but she'll still need daddy/daughter time. She looks up to you, she loves you, she wants to talk you to death." She hugged him and smiled. "Enjoy it while it lasts because as soon as she hits twelve, she's gonna want nothing to do with you unless she needs you for something… You're going to get through those stubborn years by remembering all the times she climbed into your lap or begged you for a cup of juice."

"That how you were when you became a teen? Hated your dad until you needed him?" Jax pulled her into his arms and smiled down at her. "Let me know so I can be prepared."

Noelle shook her head. "I didn't hate my dad… I rebelled against both parents equally because they were both so caught up in their careers that they tended to ignore me unless I was getting into some type of trouble." She shrugged. "I think the babies are here." She pressed the button and watched the garage door slowly open. "Yup! There they are!"

"Mommy!" Janelle sprinted towards her mom and jumped on her. "Hi!"

"Hey baby." She kissed the little girl and smiled before dropping down to hug Abel. "Hey love, you look like you just woke up from a nap… You guys enjoy the ride down?"

Abel rubbed his eyes and slowly nodded his head. "We had snacks and sang songs."

"Oh, you poor child. She made you sing songs?" Noelle laughed and passed Janelle to Jax before picking up Abel. "How about I show you to your new room and you can pick out where you wanna put your new bed… Remember how you picked out my purple colors? We can pick out new colors for your room if you don't like the blue that's up there now. Sound good baby?"

"Yes!" The blonde boy nodded and smiled. "Show me the room."

"Alright, let's go." Noelle started into the house and up the stairs. "I'm gonna show you how to open the gates when we're done looking at your room. We gotta have the gates on the stairs so Nelly doesn't fall down them and hurt herself. She's a little clumsy huh? She falls so much already."

Abel nodded and laughed as they walked into his new room. "I love the color!"

The brunette smiled. "I was hoping that you would love it… Now, where do you wanna put your bed, on the big wall over there or maybe by the window… If you look over the houses, you can sorta see the hills and stuff."

"I wanna put it on the big wall. Can we put my name over the bed like how Nell had hers in the old house?" He looked up at the brunette with a hopeful smile. "Please?"

"Yeah we can. Wanna put Abel? Teller? Abel Teller?" Noelle stared at the wall and nodded. "Maybe we can see if Happy can come down and paint it but if you can't wait I can find a painter down here."

"Find a painter." He nodded. "Please."

"Of course." She laughed and nodded. "I'll see if I can find one to come in and do it tomorrow. Does that work for you my love?"

Abel smiled and hugged Noelle's legs. "Thanks mommy."

"Welcome baby." She smiled widely and watched him check out every inch of the room. "I'll have your dad come up here and put your bed up so we can get it perfectly set up the way you want it to be."

 **SOA**

"This is nice, I'm going to admit that I'm feeling more relaxed than ever." Jax looked at Noelle as she stood at the black iron gate surrounding the swimming pool. "You trying to figure out how to get in to it?"

Noelle shook her head and looked back at her husband. "Nope. I'm making sure it's secure because I don't need the babies getting into here and falling in or something…" She shrugged. "I'm being more paranoid right now huh?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "The fence is secure. It has an alarm right?" He stood up and moved to the gate and opened it, setting off a blaring alarm. "See, if they manage to get the fucker open, then we'll hear that loud ass alarm." He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her backwards to the covered patio and on his lap. "Now relax, enjoy the sunset and our new home and life."

"I'm relaxed… I love it here already. Abel is excited to be getting his name above his bed and starting baseball. Nell is excited to be just alive pretty much. She finds excitement in anything and everything. I found her sitting in front of the fish tank making fishy faces… I'm so happy that the previous owners let me buy that with the house. It's gorgeous." She smiled.

Jax laughed. "God, I'd kill to be as carefree as those two. It's amazing to watch them interact and just enjoy living life. They're never going to have to know the feeling of me going off on a run or getting sent to Stockton. It's pretty damn nice. I'm happy about this change…" He stood up, keeping his arm wrapped around his wife. "Let's go break in the new bedroom…"

Noelle nodded. "Yes, let's christen the bedroom." She locked the french doors behind them as Jax continued carrying her up the stairs and into their bedroom before setting her on her feet and locking the door behind them. "It'll be a good way to see if the walls are thick or thin."

He smirked as he tugged his shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor before stepping out of his basketball shorts and boxers. "Try to keep it sort of quiet." He lifted her back up, wrapping her legs around his waist as his hands rubbed her ass. "We'll do a real sound test tomorrow when the kids are awake…"

"Have them scream and see if we can hear em?" She laughed as he dropped her on the bed and quickly took his place between her legs. His mouth on her neck, causing her to let out light laughs each time his beard rubbed against her skin. "Jax…" She sighed as she felt his hand sliding up her right leg, coming to an abrupt stop on her hip.

He leaned back on his heels and eyed the brunette before helping her out of her dress and panties. "Babe, you look so good." He held himself above her and smiled down at her, feeling her hands caress his arms and shoulders. He guided his erection to her center and slowly trailed it up and down over her labia before pushing inside of her and stilling.

She groaned and looked at him with a pout. "You're really gonna take it slow right now Jax?" She wiggled underneath him to encourage him to move but he stayed unmoved. "Babe…" She laughed as he rolled his body into her, catching her off guard as she wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a satisfied moan.

Jax continued his movement, his hands gripping on the headboard as he picked up his pace. Working out his aggression on the brunette moaning beneath him. "Fuck." He grumbled as he picked up the pace, slamming into her with every moan that fell from her lips. "Flip over…" He pulled away from her, watching her do as he instructed before looking back at him. "Ready _slut_?"

Noelle nodded her head, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip softly as she felt him push back into her, his fingers digging into her hips as she pushed back against him. "You know I'm always ready for you…" She dropped her head as she braced herself for the unforgiving force he was going to use to get all of his pent up aggression and anger out. "Fuck me."

"You remember the safe word right?" He paused and rubbed his hands down her sides as he awaited an answer. "Right?"

"Yeah." She looked back and nodded her head slowly. "The safe word is _Harley_." She smirked back at him before tucking her hair behind her ears and slowly moving her ass, only to let out a sharp yelp when she felt him land a hard smack to her ass. "Ow."

He chuckled. "Don't remember saying you could do that shit." He wrapped her hair around his hand and roughly pulled on it before his other hand found her neck and applied slight pressure to it. "You know the rules… Do I need to remind you?"

She shook her head and licked her lips at the sensation, her body reacting in the most delicious way to Jax's dominating actions. Actions that she hadn't been subject to in months. Now, she was going to test him, to see just how much he was willing to do to her. "Maybe…" She mumbled as she pressed back against him, earning the pressure around her neck to tighten. A mischievous grin lit up her face as she repeated the movement, this time earning another smack to her ass.

Jax smirked and shook his head, his wife was playing games again. Testing the waters, seeing just how much he was going to let her get away with. All the teasing she was doing wasn't going to earn her anything but a nice rough fuck. He released her hair, dropping the hand to her stomach and giving himself a reminder that she was pregnant. "You're testing my patience with you Noelle." He moved his hand from her neck slowly down her back, stopping at her ass. "I don't have much of it tonight."

"Sorry." She moaned out, feeling him starting to thrust in and out of her again. His hands no doubt leaving behind bruises by the feeling of the force he was gripping her hips with. "It won't happen again."

"Good." He growled through gritted teeth as he increased the speed of his thrusts, pounding into her pussy. Feeling his anger start to slowly fade as he kept up the pace, working out the last few months on her. Knowing she would take every hard thrust, hair pull and the hand around her neck. "So fucking perfect slut." He spread her ass, watching his cock move in and out of her, sending his body into overtime. "That's right Noelle, moan for me, let me know how much you love this."

"I fucking love it…" She moaned louder everytime he slammed into her, her fingers clawing at the bedsheets as she was easily worked up into a lust filled frenzy. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Don't stop Jax, please don't fucking stop…"

He nodded, getting even more turned on by her moans and pleading. He pushed her top half down onto the bed, bracing himself against her as he picked up an almost violent pace. Drilling into her as he finally rid himself of all the anger and aggression as he felt her begin to orgasm, her walls contracting around his cock. "Fuck…" He smacked her ass. "I don't think I told you to orgasm but I'll let it slide this time." He grabbed a tighter hold of her him and slammed into her repeatedly as he felt his balls and thighs tense up and his own orgasm begin. "Love fucking you slut…" He mumbled as he spilled his seed inside of her before giving one last pitiful pump before pulling out of her and falling on the bed next to her. His chest heaving as he tried to slow his heart rate down.

"I wasn't finished with you." Noelle panted and looked over at Jax. "I was hoping for at least a few hours of that…"

Jax laughed and looked at her. "Seriously? I'll give you more just let me catch my breath first." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and smiled. "Glad you didn't need to use the safe word."

She shrugged before moving closer to him and throwing an arm over his chest. "I only ever used it twice and both times we thought trying anal was going to be a good idea." She laughed and shook her head slowly. "Never again!"

He chuckled. "Don't say never… We're gonna conquer that eventually." He flashed her a devious smirk. "It'll happen. I promise you that much."

Noelle sat up and looked down at her husband before shaking her head. "We'll see about that… It's going to take a lot of bribing and love for me to even consider attempting it again. I need some sleep, I'm starting to feel the morning sickness trying to creep up on me."

Jax nodded and pulled her down into his arms. "Go to sleep… if anything wake me up if you start getting sick so I can sit with you through it. Just like with Janelle. I love you." He rubbed her back and settled into the pillows. His mind finally at ease as he let his thoughts wander to Noelle having a son.

* * *

 **Sorry** **for the late update. I was working on my other story. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	17. Weekend Warrior

**thanks for the reviews. :)**

* * *

Noelle walked through the garage and into the driveway, a tray of drinks and snacks in her hand as she smiled. Her eyes on Jax and Abel who were both bent over her car, no doubt trying to figure out what was wrong with it. "That's cute." She set the tray on the toolbox and wrapped her arms around her husband's waist and squeezed him tightly. "Take a break. I brought you guys drinks and snacks."

"We're fixing the car!" Abel smiled at Noelle. "It'll work again, huh dad?"

Jax nodded and smiled even though he knew there wasn't a thing wrong with Noelle's car. He just wanted to bond with Abel. "Yup, buddy you're doing a good job. We'll have mommy's car up and running in no time."

"You two are just regular weekend warriors." She laughed as she passed Jax a beer and Abel a juice box. "What would I do without the two of you around to fix up this car?"

"You'd have to drive the truck!" Abel shook his head. "We're gonna get it fixed by the end of the day. I promise, alright?" He hugged Noelle's legs. "Where's Jan?"

The brunette ruffled his hair and smiled. "She's sleeping, poor thing fell asleep right in front of the fish tank. I just left her there because she had her pillows."

"She's got a weird obsession with fish and water. I spent three hours watching her splash around in the pool yester." Jax sat down on his chair and pulled Noelle down onto his lap. "The neighbor with the Harley across the street was eyeing my bike earlier… I had to school him on shit."

"Well look at you. You're bonding with a weekend warrior." She rested back against him and watched as Abel moved back to the car and started flashing his light around. "It's cute that you're hanging out with him like this."

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't say that I'm bonding with the neighbor. I love hanging out with Abel. He's a cool kid and this is fun."

Noelle smirked as she stood up. "Your new best friend is heading this way… I think he's bringing his wife. Allow me to go hide."

Jax grabbed her waist and pulled her back down. "Nope. His wife will be your new best friend… It's perfect." He kissed her neck and eyed the couple walking up the driveway.

"Jax!" The man smiled down at the couple. "This is my wife Hayley."

"Nice to meet you." Jax smiled at the blonde before shaking her hand. "Johnny, Hayley this is my wife Noelle, and that guy over there is our son Abel."

Noelle smiled at the couple. "Hi. It's nice to meet you. You're the first neighbors we've had the pleasure of meeting." She stood up and hugged both Johnny and Hayley. "I'm a hugger." She sat back down on Jax and nodded.

"It's nice to meet you as well. I was talking to Jax about Harleys earlier. He taught me quite a lot about 'em." Johnny smiled at Noelle. "You ride?"

The brunette shook her head. "I do not ride on my own… I do go for rides with Jax. What about you Hayley? Do you have your own bike?"

Hayley nodded. "Yes! I have my own bike, it's hot pink and amazing."

"Oh. Babe, she has a pink Harley. I bet it looks perfect. Like Barbie's bike." Noelle squeezed Jax's hand and smiled. "I may have to take a look at it, maybe it'll inspire me to get a bike of my own."

Jax squeezed his wife's side, hearing the sarcasm dripping from her words. "Yeah, we'll take a look at it. Maybe you can get one after you have the new baby."

"You're expecting!? We are too! I'm two months." Hayley rubbed her belly. "What about you? Are you hoping for a little girl to balance out having a son?"

Noelle shook her head. "Congratulations. I'm almost three months. No, we're hoping for another son. We have a daughter, she's in the house taking a nap. She's almost three years old. Is this going to be your first child?"

"No, no. We have two teenagers. We were teen parents." Johnny shook his head. "I'm sure you'll meet them. We have a daughter named Quinn and a son named Jordan."

Jax smiled and nodded. "Maybe we'll have to see if your daughter will be down to babysit one weekend for us."

"She'd love that." Hayley nodded. "She babysits for some of the other couples in the neighborhood, she's very good with kids."

"We'll keep her in mind." Noelle smiled as she looked back at the door in the garage to see it opening. "There's my sleepyhead." She held her arms out as Janelle walked to her and instantly hopped into her arms. "This is Janelle."

"She's gorgeous. Look at those eyes." Hayley smiled.

"Hi." Janelle smiled before turning to bury her face in her mom's neck. "I want juice."

"It was nice to meet you guys. I'm gonna head inside and make her snack." Noelle stood up and smiled at the couple. "We'll have to hang out formally one day soon."

"Yes." Johnny nodded. "We'll have to have you over for a bbq soon. Our families can mingle." He smiled at Jax. "I'll catch you later man, we can talk bikes."

Jax nodded and smiled. "Yeah, man. I'll see ya around." He stood from his chair and moved back to the car as the couple walked down the driveway.

"Man, I thought they'd never leave." Abel scoffed as he looked at his dad. "Back to work."

 **SOA**

"I'm half hoping that Hayley was lying about having a pink Harley… That doesn't seem right. It seems to damn girly but maybe it's because I've been around so many black Dynas that it is engrained in my brain that they should be black or at least a color other than pink." Noelle mumbled to Jax as she sat on the sink in the bathroom, curling her already wavy hair. "It's weird that they have teenagers. They look so young."

Jax shrugged as he brushed Janelle's hair. "I need to avoid Johnny, I swear he thinks he knows shit about bikes but he really doesn't. I don't wanna bond with him."

"Shit!" Janelle shouted and covered her mouth as she giggled. "Shit!"

"No, you can't say that word." He glared at his daughter and shook his head. "It's a grown up word, you got it Nell?"

The tiny brunette nodded. "Got it!"

"I don't wanna see this dance academy." Jax shook his head as he did his best to put his daughter's hair into a ponytail. "Do I have to go?"

"Yes daddy!" Nelly grabbed her dad's white shirt and nodded. "Yes! Dance! Tutu!"

"You look the part of an Orange County dad. The pants, the shirt, the flannel and the backwards hat. You'll fit right in with any other dads that'll turn up." Noelle finished curling her hair and made sure the iron was out of reach before she turned around to face her husband. "It'll be fun, it'll be good. You can't stay cooped up in the house all the time, you'll get cabin fever and start seeing things."

"This is not a movie." He smiled at her. "Let's get your shoes on and see if your brother is dressed and ready to go look at the academy. Why can't she go to a studio?"

"It's like a studio, it just has more styles of dancing. She'll be trying ballet and hip-hop." Noelle shrugged. "You should make sure she doesn't try to put on my heels again."

"But she was so cute in those damn heels." He shrugged as he moved out of the bathroom. "Don't take forever either, we should be heading out soon."

 **SOA**

"Look at all the same cookie cutter SUVs and minivans." Jax shook his head as he took his kids' hands in his. "It's ridiculous…" He eyed the expensive vehicles and their color scheme, black or white. It caused Noelle's bright red SUV to stick out like a sore thumb. "God Noe, could you try to blend in!?"

Noelle laughed and shook her head. "Nope, I refuse to blend in." She pulled open the door to the academy and smiled at the blonde at the table. "We're checking in for Teller."

"Here are your name tags. I'm Miss Tucker, I'm the acrobatics coach here." She passed Noelle the name tags and smiled. "Hopefully you enjoy this open house and decide to enroll your children in classes."

"Tutu! Mommy!" Janelle pointed at the ballerinas that walked past her and smiled. "So pretty! Daddy!"

Jax picked her up and rubbed her stomach. "You're gonna be a ballerina then kid?"

"Yes! Tutus!" The brunette nodded. "Down, please?"

He set her on the ground, watching as she pressed her face to a large glass wall where the ballerinas were now dancing. "She's sold on this place already."

Noelle smiled. "What about you Abel? You wanna learn how to dance or are you all about baseball?"

Abel shrugged as he moved next to his little sister and watched the dancers. "I'll stick to baseball. I don't wanna dance like that!"

"I wanna be a ballerina!" Janelle spun around and smiled. "Tutus and dance! Abel dance with me!"

He shook his head. "I don't wanna dance Monster, I wanna play baseball and work on cars."

"It's cute, that nickname…" Noelle looked at Jax and shrugged. "She'll always be a tiny little monster in his eyes."

Jax shrugged. "It is… Can we go look around more so we can get home… I need my wife."

"Oh." The brunette nodded and smirked. "Yeah, let's get this done and handled." She grabbed his hands and started to follow after Janelle, who seemed to know where she was going. "She's a leader."

"Daddy!" Janelle stopped abruptly and grabbed his hand. "Look a picture of a Harley! Look!" She tapped on the display and smiled.

"They do charity rides." Jax looked at the display and shook his head. "I'm not doing it… Nope, never. Don't you suggest it either."

"I wasn't gonna suggest it…" Noelle rolled her eyes and grinned. "But… I bet your darlin' can talk you into doing it once she gets accepted into here and you write that check for tuition."

He gaped at the beauty before him. "Tuition? She's only gonna be three! What in the world is this tuition for? It's not a school Noelle… It's just dance!"

"Well you have to pay for dance classes. They're not free." She crossed her arms and glared at the man. "We'll talk it over when we get home but regardless you're gonna have to pay for some type of dance program for her, so why not the best?"

Jax nodded, knowing the right time and place for an argument wasn't a packed building. "Alright, we can talk about it. Doesn't mean it'll actually happen…" He picked up his daughter and kissed her face. "So, do you want dance classes or juice boxes more?"

"Dance!" Janelle bopped her head. "Dance! Dance! Dance!"

"Dance it is." He smiled as he set her down to her feet. "How much is this tuition Noe? You know I'm not working right?"

Noelle shrugged. "Yeah, I know Jax. It's not a lot, I will foot the bill for her dance and you foot the bill for Abel's baseball. It'll all work out." She kissed him and smiled. "Look at us being all mature and stuff. Talking about money and bills."

Jax pulled her into a hug and kissed the side of her head. "Yeah, we are being mature and talking about bills… Let's get this over with, I am dying here." He rubbed her flat stomach and sighed as he let the realization of having to provide for three children and a wife sink in. He needed a job and he needed one fast.

* * *

 **this was just a quick filler chapter before the story goes on indefinite hiatus... Sorry about it but I have no other choice but to take a break from this story for a bit.**


	18. Dance and Burgers

Jax walked into his home and dropped his jacket on the first recliner that he came across. He had spent half of his day doing job interviews. A task that he wasn't prepared for. He had no true work experience other than being a decent mechanic at Teller-Morrow. Letting out a sigh he dropped into his favorite chair, smiling as he saw Janelle skip into the living room. "Hello darlin'." He smiled at his daughter, laughing as she was startled and ran towards him. "I missed you."

"Hi daddy." Janelle kissed her father's nose and giggled. "Where you go?" She held her arms out and lifted them.

He smiled. "I went to go look for a job."

"You want juice?" She stared at him as she slid off his lap. "Juice for daddy!" She ran out of the living room.

"Well, look at you. Looking all dashing." Noelle walked into the room, Abel at her side. "How'd they go? You charm any of the interviewers?"

"Here daddy!" Janelle passed Jax a juice box. "Juice for daddy." He climbed back onto his lap and rested her head against his chest. "You drink it." She tilted her head back and watched him push the straw into the box and take a sip. "Good."

Jax nodded. "Really good, what flavor is this?" He looked at the box. "Oh, it's a mixed berry drink with some veggies."

"It's healthy juice, we picked it out earlier when we went to the store. Abel made a new little friend there, her name is Clover." Noelle smiled. "She's gonna come over this weekend for a little play date and Abel is excited about it."

"She's pretty." Abel smiled at his dad. "She has long brown hair, I like it."

"A brunette?" He smirked. "Whatever you do, don't pull her hair and definitely don't be mean to her. Treat her like you treat Nelly and Noelle… Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it. I'll treat her nice like I do Monster and mommy." Abel nodded enthusiastically. "I'm going to play outside. We got a sandbox back there now."

"Don't look at me like that. It was a gift from my mom, I didn't go off and buy it. It was delivered while you were gone." Noelle rubbed her arms and shrugged. "You know she loves spoiling those two grandbabies of hers." She watched as Abel took Janelle's hand and lead her towards the sliding doors.

Jax looked back at his children and furrowed his brow. "You trust those two to be out there alone? She's too young."

She shook her head. "She'll be three in a month. I'm about to go sit out there with them until it's time for me to start dinner. I bought you some beer and your favorite snacks." She kissed him and smiled. "I'm proud of you for doing the interviews, I know that couldn't have been easy for you Jax."

He nodded and caught her wrist, preventing her from wandering off further. "Thanks. I just hope I land at least the mechanic's job. It's my fucking background." He chuckled as he stood up, removing his button up. "I'll come sit outside with you and the kids." He dipped his head and caught her lips in a brief kiss before smiling and rubbing her belly. "The baby is so a boy. You're getting a bump already."

Noelle smiled and shook her head. "Well, I am nearing four months already. Time is flying so fast, I swear it is." She tugged on his tank top as they walked outside, onto the covered patio and and turned their chairs so they could see Abel and Janelle. "I'm so in love with their sibling dynamic. It's nothing short of perfection."

"That's his Monster." Jax smiled, watching as Abel helped the tiny brunette shovel sand into a bright neon orange bucket. "It's safe to say that neither of them are going to be architects when they're older."

"Of course not. Janelle wants to be a ballerina and Abel wants to be a firefighter." She chuckled. "I wonder what the new child will want to be. If he'll want to be president or if he'll want to be an international jewel thief."

He shook his head and laughed. "We're trying to keep any of them from becoming an outlaw. I don't want them in that life or that type of trouble."

"We just want them happy, healthy and doing what they want to do." Noelle grabbed ahold of her husband's thumbs and smiled. "I love you Jax."

"I love you too." Jax pulled her over onto his lap and rested his chin on her shoulder, his eyes still locked on his children who were having the time of their lives, building castles then knocking them down with the toy bulldozer. "I hope the two of them stay close, it'll be sad to see them ever grow distant."

"They'll have their moments when they're older of wanting to be apart, especially when Abel is in middle school and wants to be with his friends and Nelly is trying to insert herself into the hangout. Same with highschool. He'll be protective of her though, he'll be like a senior when she starts high school and I know he'd be scaring guys away from her." She squeezed his hands and smiled. "Prepare yourself now for your daughter wanting to date when she's in high school. It'll be the hardest time in your life. You'll want to chase off every guy she likes but it'll make her rebel against you. She'll toss out a _I hate you so much! You're ruining my life!_ or my personal favorite _But daddy I love him!_ "

The handsome man chuckled and hook his head. "I'm never going to be prepared for that shit. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be the dad that is always trying to scare the guy off just to see how loyal he is to my baby girl. Janelle is my little darlin' I want to keep her from knowing heartbreak until she's out of high school."

Noelle nodded and smiled. "You'll always be the man she compares guys to. You and Abel are the standards the guys are going to have to meet, so if you two keep loving her, protecting her, respecting her, treating her like she's royalty, then she'll expect nothing less from whatever guy she wants to date. It's a whole scientific thing, you treat your daughter amazing and she'll have high standards for any guy."

Jackson nodded slowly. "I'm going to remember that. I wouldn't want her with some punk that's going to treat her like shit. I'd have to break out my gun and brandish them a bit and scare the fucker off."

She laughed and shook her head slowly. "I don't have any doubts about that. Let's just focus on her turning three, we'll worry about dating and boys when the time comes."

 **SOA**

"You ready for dance class?" Jax lifted Janelle off the floor by her tutu and laughed as she flailed and giggled. "I'm taking you today. Your mom isn't feeling up to it and Abel, well he can't drive just yet."

"Truck!" Janelle clapped as they entered the garage. "My bag is in mommy's car!"

He nodded as he opened his truck and strapped her into her carseat. "I'll grab your dance bag." He shut the door and moved towards Noelle's red Benz. "Your mom, I'm going to kick her butt, she never locks this damn thing."

"Yeah! Kick her booty!" She laughed as he passed her the bright pink bag that had her last name embroidered on the side. "Daddy! I want you to dance with me."

Jax shook his head as he backed out of the driveway. "I will dance with you but not at the academy, I'll dance with you at home in your room in the dark. Alright?"

"You're silly." She giggled.

"I know darlin'." He glanced back at her as they came to a stop at a red light, his attention immediately being pulled by the sound of a Harleys. "You want a burger and fries after dance Elle?"

"Yes!" Janelle cheered. "Juice too. Where did Juice go?"

"Your juice is at home babe." Jax shrugged.

"No, where's _Juice_?" She kicked her legs out and pouted. "Where he go?"

"He's at his house." He looked back at her. "Don't worry, he'll visit you soon."

"Okay!" Janelle tried to unfasten herself as they pulled into the academy's parking lot. "I'm stuck!"

Jax shook his head as he got out of the truck and helped her out of her seat. "You weren't stuck, you're supposed to be all secured in there. It keeps you safe." He rested her on his hip as he grabbed her bag. "You're so lucky you're my kid, I'm about to go sit in a room with moms and listen to them gossip about things that I don't give a damn about."

She shook her head and kissed his cheek. "No grumpy!" She smiled as they walked into the building and he set her to the ground. "Come on daddy!" She grabbed ahold of his large hand and lead him towards her class. "I know where it is."

"Do you?" He smirked as he followed behind her, earning weird looks from stuck up moms as they went along. "I guess you do." Jax smiled proudly as she stood in front of the correct door and looked up at him. "Have fun and learn some moves, I'm gonna need you to teach them to me later."

"Okay daddy!" She hugged him before accepting her bag and walking into the class.

He watched her for a moment, smiling as she sat her bag down and started talking to the other girls in her class. He couldn't believe that she was nearing three and was already trying to be so independent. Just like her mom.

"Which one is yours?" A woman stood next to Jax and looked in on the class. "Mine is the one in the purple tutu."

Jax looked at her and smiled before turning his attention back on Janelle. "Mine is the one in the multicolored tutu. Janelle."

"She's adorable. I haven't seen her around, you guys new to this studio?" She looked at Jax and smiled at him when he turned his head to look at her. "I'm Mallory."

"Just moved to the city." He nodded. "I'm Jax."

"Welcome." She smiled as she shook his head. "How old is your little girl?"

"She'll be three in two weeks." Jax watched as Janelle stood at the barre and smiled before looking towards the window and waving at him. He smiled and waved back. "What about your kid?"

"Haylie is three." Mallory watched the girls try to repeat the actions of the teacher. "We should meet at the park, let the girls have a playdate."

He nodded and looked at the woman. "Yeah, sounds like an idea. You'd have to set it up with my wife though, she's the one who's good at scheduling."

She nodded as she passed him a piece of paper. "That's my number, tell her to give me a call and we'll set something up. I'm going to sit in the parent's area if you want to tag along. We can see the girls just fine from the room."

Jax shook his head. "Thanks but I'm fine right here. I'm just going to watch her a little more then head outside anyway."

 **SOA**

"You're as light as a feather." Jax smiled at Janelle as he carried her inside of the diner. "You did good in class today. I watched almost all of it."

The tiny brunette smiled and nodded as they sat down in a booth. "I liked class." She picked up the menu and started flipping through it, her eyes scanning the words before she looked up at her dad. "Read it to me."

He laughed taking the menu from her and handing her the kids menu. "It has pictures and words." He leaned over and pointed at a picture. "Grilled cheese sandwich, tomato soup and fries come with that meal."

"No thanks." She shook her head and pointed to the burger on the page. "I want a burger, daddy."

"Burger, fries, a shake?" Jax looked down at her as his phone started to ring. "I gotta answer this, alright?" He answered it, watching as Janelle started drawing with crayons on the place mat. "Yeah, of course. I'll be there on Monday… I can do that." He smiled before ending the call and looking at the brunette. "I got the job."

"What's that?" Janelle traded the red crayon for the blue one and looked at her dad.

"It's a place I'll go to sometimes to make money to buy the family stuff." He started drawing on the mat with her. "Do you understand that?"

"Yeah." She nodded slowly. "Buy me juice."

Jax laughed and shook his head. "Man, I wish I could be you and just be carefree and have no responsibilities just for one day." He looked at the waitress as she approached their booth. "We're both having cheeseburgers and fries, she'll have the kids' meal though, with an apple juice. I'll take a rootbeer."

Janelle narrowed her eyes at the waitress and hit the table. "Don't look at my daddy!"

"She's a killer." Jax shrugged at the waitress before looking at his daughter. "What was that about darlin'?"

She shrugged. "I want my burger."

He shook his head. "You're just a mini version of your mom." He kissed her head and smiled. "You're a feisty little thing when it's time for your nap. We'll eat and then I'll get you home for your nap."

 **SOA**

"How was dance?" Noelle smiled at Jax who was walking into the house carrying Janelle. "You get your ear talked off by the moms?"

He laid his daughter on the sofa and shrugged. "I didn't go sit in that room, I stood outside of the studio and watched… This mom, her name is Mallory wants to set up some playdate for her daughter and Janelle. She gave me her information. I also, have some news. I got that mechanic position. I guess my reference from TM paid off."

"Congratulations babe!" Noelle pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm sure you'll like the job."

Jax nodded as he dropped into his recliner pulling Noelle down onto his lap. "I'm sure I'll hate being bossed around but a job is a job." He lazily tapped his fingertips over her belly and smiled. "How are we doing on savings?"

"The savings are still the savings." She turned sideways and looked at him. "It's nothing to worry about babe. You made a lot of money from the club and it's still safely tucked away. We haven't needed to touch any of it."

"Well that's good, I just don't wanna touch any of it." He sighed.

"I know. If all else fails babe, we have the whole trust fund, life insurance money and the money I made selling my old wardrobe." Noelle kissed him and smiled. "We're going to be fine, stop worrying about money. We're pretty well off." She slipped off of his lap. "Take a nap, you earned it. I'm going to start on some laundry." She watched him recline his chair and yawn before closing his eyes. "Take it easy, you're going to need to have all your energy saved up for your first day of work. The work force is draining." Her eyes moved back on him, noticing that he had already fallen asleep. "Love you Jax." She whispered before shaking her head and leaving the living room. Her focus on getting laundry done and relaxing at the fact that Jax had something to do and wouldn't go crazy being in the house all day. "No time to think about going back to the Sons if he's too busy working."

* * *

 **hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	19. First Day

**thanks for the reviews. I love reading them. hope you enjoy this chapter and I promise you, it'll pick back up with a little drama in the next couple of chapters.**

* * *

"Where you go daddy?" Janelle giggled as she looked around the living room for Jax. "Where you go!?" She shook her head as she moved around the recliner and screamed when Jax grabbed her and hoisted her in the air. "Found you!"

Jax smiled and nodded. "Yeah you did! Only took you forever!" He tossed her into the air and caught her. "You gonna be good for your mom today? I'm not gonna come home from work and have to yell at you right?"

"Yes." She pushed her hair out of her face and nodded. "I'll be good."

"You better be. I hate having to yell at you but I will if you don't listen to your mom. You're gonna be three soon and I'm gonna need you to be a big girl and follow all her directions." He set her down in his recliner and smiled. "I have to go to work, I'll be back after you eat your dinner. I'll be able to do bath time and put you to bed."

Janelle nodded and smiled. "I'm going to be good daddy." She stood up in the recliner and opened her arms. "Hug?"

He hugged her and kissed the top of her head before setting her back down. "Be good. I'll see you later. I love you darlin'."

"I love you too daddy." She grabbed the remote and started smashing buttons. "Say bye to Abel!"

He nodded. "I can't, he's off at school. It was his first day. It's just you and mommy today."

"Yeah Nelly, just you me and the new baby before we have to pick Abel up from school." Noelle sat down in the recliner and pointed to her stomach. "Remember you're gonna be a big sister soon."

"No baby!" Janelle scrunched her face up and shook her head. "No baby!"

"I'm ignoring you… Jax, have a good day at work." She smiled at her husband. "I packed your lunch for you… It's on the counter. Take it or leave it but I suggest taking it so you don't have to go wandering around for a place to eat. I hear lunch rushes aren't the rage."

Jax smiled. "I love you... I'll see you when I get home from work. Janelle, remember what I told you. Behave or I'm gonna have to punish you later. I don't wanna put you in time out but I will if I have to."

"I 'member daddy! I'll be good." She bounced out of the recliner and hugged his legs. "Go to work! Go make cars all better. I love you!"

He laughed and nodded. "I love you too… I'll see you later. Noe, if she is bad just bring her up to the job and I'll set her ass straight."

Noelle shook her head. "Go to work! Stop procrastinating Jackson! You're going to do just fine there. Maybe you'll get a bike to work on or something."

 **SOA**

Two hours in and all Jax had been assigned to do was to process invoices and work the front of house. A task he thoroughly hated. He thought he'd at least be in the actual garage, working on cars, getting his hands dirty. Instead he was stuck dealing with annoying customers who tried their damndest to haggle lower prices after he explained time and time again that the price was a set price because it was quoted to them before work was actually done. "Welcome to Steele's what can I do for you today?" He rasped, not even looking up from the paperwork in front of him.

"Jax?" Mallory eyed the man and smiled. "It's me, Mallory from the academy. I wasn't aware you were a mechanic."

He looked up and flashed her a small smile. "Uh, yeah." He ran his fingers through his hair and nodded. "First day working here but I've been working on cars and bikes my whole life… You dropping off or picking up?"

She leaned forward on the counter and smiled. "I'm just stopping in because I got a flat while driving." She pointed to a shiny red BMW sitting in front of the shop. "Was hoping it could be handled completely. I have to head back into work."

Jax nodded. "Let me see if any bays are open and I'll get you squared away." He moved away from the counter and into the garage, his blue eyes looking for the manager. "Hey man, was seeing if I could change a flat really quick, the customer is in a hurry."

Steele nodded before looking around Jax and inside of the building. "She's cute, she your girlfriend or something?"

He shook his head and chuckled. "No, she's an acquaintance, her daughter is in my daughter's dance class."

"Uh huh." Steele smirked. "Go handle it, charge her for it. I don't do none of that favors for friends shit here."

Jax rolled his eyes as he moved back inside of the shop and looked at Mallory. "Won't be taking it inside but I'll meet you out there to change the flat and get you on your way."

She looked up from her phone and smiled at him. "Oh thank God. I didn't want to have to cancel any afternoon appointments."

He shrugged as he followed her out and to the red car. "How far did you drive on this thing?" He kicked at the bent rim and frowned. "You have an extra in your trunk?" He reached into the car and popped the trunk before walking around to retrieve the spare, smiling at it. "At least you'll be leaving in style and not on a donut." He pulled it free from the trunk and carried it to the side of the car. "Where do you work?"

"The Montague Law Firm." She smiled as she watched his every move. "It's one of the best Firms in the country."

Jax nodded. "Yeah, I know. Blair Montague is my mother-in-law, I married her daughter Noelle not too long ago."

"Noelle is back down here? I had no idea." She shook her head. "I haven't seen her around the academy though."

"Yeah, she's all pregnant and taking care of our son. He's back in school so she may be going to the academy more often." He stood up and looked at her.

"Baby number three? Wow." Mallory nodded. "Congrats on that. I myself have stopped with just Haylie. She's all I need in my life."

"Yeah." Jax lowered the car. "It's all done, it's only gonna be ten bucks since you had your own tire."

"Here, keep the change." She passed him a fifty as she moved around to her car and got in. "Have Noelle reach out to me for real!"

He shook his head before walking back inside and writing out the invoice. "She gave me fifty for a ten dollar job… She's the sixth female to tip me this generously."

Steele smirked. "Man, she just wants your dick. All of 'em do. You're gonna have horny housewives coming in here just to see you work on their cars."

Jax chuckled. "That's fucking ridiculous."

The man shrugged. "Hey, if they keep tipping like they're doing now then you'll be taking home a nice chunk of change each shift."

"Yeah man." He nodded and smirked.

"Some of my guys are gonna take off for lunch, you can get in the garage and get hands on with a couple of cars." Steele sat down at the desk. "I'll be working up front through my lunch hour anyway, have some of my invoices I need to enter into the computer."

"Nice." Jax looked at his boss before shrugging and walking away, suddenly feeling a little better about his first day of work.

 **SOA**

"Daddy!" Janelle clapped as she watched Jax walk into the house. "I missed you!"

Jax moved towards her and picked her up. "I missed you too. Were you good today?"

"Yes! So good." She ran her tiny fingers through his blonde hair and laughed. "I want your hair! It's yellow!"

"It's more gold if anything." Noelle walked into the living room and smiled. "Abel's been teaching her what he learned in school today. I guess they were learning colors and she can say yellow but she can't distinguish between blue and purple. Purple is just dominating."

"Where's he at?" Jax set his daughter down and shrugged out of his work shirt before tossing it towards the recliner. "He's not sleeping yet is he? Oh, that Mallory chick said call her, I guess she works at your mom's firm and knows you."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "I'm not making a play date with her. I don't like her, she's one of those sneaky women that always want everyone else's stuff. I don't wanna deal with it."

"You knew it was her?" He shook his head. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I double checked with my mom… I don't like her and I suggest you stay away from her, she's gonna try to touch you and I'll have to hit her." Noelle shrugged. "Go hang out with Abel a little while, he has coloring homework. Yeah, you heard that right, his assignment is to color a picture of his family."

Jax smiled. "Alright, I'm going to go see if I can't color with him." He stepped out of his sneakers and moved towards the stairs, taking them slowly as he came to a stop at the gate at the top of the stairs. He unlocked it and moved straight towards Abel's room, eying the large mural above his bed. "Hey buddy. How was your first day of school?"

"It was so fun!" Abel looked up from his drawing and smiled. "I made so many friends and guess who was there? Clover! She's in my class, at recess we played on the monkey bars together. She's really good at them."

"Oh yeah? So is Clover your girlfriend or something now?" He asked as he sat on the tiny chair across from Abel and looked at the drawing. "Who are all those people? I don't remember you having so many brothers!"

Abel laughed. "Those are my uncles dad. That's you, me, Monster, mommy and my mom. I didn't put grandma on here because she was mean to mommy."

"Let me guess, this one right here is Happy, that's Juice and this one right here is Opie." Jax nodded and looked at the drawing closer. "Do you miss your mom? Do you wanna go back to her?"

"I miss her but I like it better with mommy." He shrugged. "Mommy loves me and always hugs me. I like that a lot."

"Well, you can always visit her." Jax ran a hand down his face and sighed. "Don't forget to give Monster a blue eye and a brown eye. Gotta make her look realistic." He smiled and passed Abel the blue crayon.

"Can I see Happy, Juice and Opie too?" Abel looked at his father and smiled. "I really wanna visit them. They're the best."

He nodded. "Yeah, I'll see if they'll come down for a visit for a few days." He pulled a clean piece of paper from the pack and looked down at it. "I'm gonna draw Noe, I used to draw her all the time when she was in college."

"What's college?" The boy paused and looked at his dad.

"It's a school but for grown ups." Jax nodded. "I'm gonna let you color. I have to put your sister to bed in a little while then I'll be back to read you a story." He stood up and pressed a kiss to his son's head before slowly exiting the room and making his way back down to the living room. "Noe."

"Yes baby?" Noelle whispered as she pointed to Janelle who was passed out on the ottoman. "Poor thing, she couldn't even make it to her bed time…"

He smiled. "I'll carry her up to her room in a little bit." Moving towards the sofa, he dropped down softly, pulling Noelle's legs onto his lap. "You see Abel's family portrait? He drew his uncles, us, Nelly and Wendy. He said he couldn't draw Gemma because she was mean to you."

She sighed as she closed her eyes and shook her head. "I didn't see it, I just supplied the paper, crayons and markers. Does he want to see her or something? Missing her? What do we do Jax it's not like we can load up into the car and drive up to Charming for him to visit her. He has school now, you work, I'm pregnant and feeling terrible."

"Yeah he does a little but he likes it here because you hug him and love him alot." Jax sighed as he rubbed his hands up and down his face slowly. "I know we can't drive back up there… It'll just have to wait for a little while. The only thing I can think of is inviting Wendy down here."

"Well, I need to think about that to be honest. I'll talk to my mom about conditions and all that good legal shit… The last thing I want is for him getting confused about shit. I don't want to talk about this though." Noelle shook her head as she rubbed her stomach slowly. "I hate being pregnant this time. It's terrible and I didn't go through this with our daughter."

"Could mean you're pregnant with a boy or you're just stressed. Make a doctor's appointment to make sure everything is fine and you're healthy and the baby is healthy." He poked at her belly and smiled. "My boss at work is pretty cool, he thinks that the local housewives are going to flock to the shop because I'm there. I also got a nice chunk of cash from tips."

"Your boss is using your looks to bring in more business. That's precious." She laughed as she rubbed his arm. "I'm glad you liked your first day."

"It was slow at first, I had to learn how to actually enter invoices in the computers." Jax shook his head. "It was a unique experience."

Noelle rolled her eyes and smirked. "Oh really? You used a computer? Then, I'm glad because your daughter and I have been busting our butts all day to set something up for you in your little man cave."

"Figured it was about time that I learned how to work a computer. Figured out the whole phone thing now I can do the computer." He smiled as he eyed her carefully, trying to figure out what his girls could have whipped up in his space. "What'd you do?"

She moved off the sofa and grabbed his hands. "Why don't we go see what we got up to." The brunette smiled as she tugged him towards his first floor office. "It took us a little bit but we managed to turn your empty room into a true man cave."

"Oh look a computer." Jax smirked as he moved into the room. "What will I do with that?" He eyed the space, it was decked out in Harley memorabilia and his kutte was displayed in a frame on the wall behind the desk. "This is nice babe, I can't believe you two managed to get all of this done so quickly."

"Felt right to display the reaper. I know it's a big part of what shaped you." Noelle tugged him towards the bookshelf. "These are your journals from when we dated… You always used to forget them at the house and I'd keep 'em and you never wanted them back but here they are, all nice and organized."

"That sounds weird, _dated_. We dated, now we're married and enjoying life." He flipped through one of the journals before setting it back on the shelf.

The brunette nodded and pushed Jax towards the desk and chair. "Sit, sit. You can write on here now." She opened a word doc and smiled. "It'll automatically save your work, it's no fussing over it. You can also go to Google, look up anything you want to, you wanna look at Harleys, it'll take you to the site and I'm rambling, you can just explore. I think it'll be good for you, give you something to do in your down time when you don't wanna work on my car. You can write, Google, watch videos and whatever else you may wanna do."

Jax looked at his wife and smirked. "You're more excited about this than I am… I'm sure I'll conquer this computer too. Thanks babe. I appreciate this whole space." He pulled her into a tight hug, his hand on her hip as he rested his forehead against hers. "I love you babe."

"I love you too." Noelle sighed as she laced her fingers through his. "I'm glad this change is working out for us… It feels so good." She smiled up at him, noticing the look in his eyes as he scanned the room before he finally looked back down at her and smiled. "It's been good for all of us." She gave one stern nod as she rested her face against his chest as his arms wrapped back around her, coaxing her into a relaxed state.


	20. Secrets

Blair looked at the paper in front of her before looking at the picture of her family sitting on the corner of her desk. She couldn't believe it, this paper, this _simple_ piece of paper was going to rip through her family. Burn it to ashes if she let the news it held get out and that was something she couldn't allow to happen. As far as she was concerned she never got the paper and she would deny ever receiving it if she was ever questioned. "Fuck." She muttered as she pulled the red zippo and lit the paper on fire, dropping it into the empty metal trash can sitting next to her. Just like that the paper was gone and Noelle and Jax would never have to deal with what it said.

"What's wrong?" Happy walked into the office and eyed the blonde behind the desk before looking at the smoke rising from her trash can. "What're you setting on fire now babe?"

She shrugged. "Just some annoying document. Not a favorable plea for one of my clients." She smiled as Happy rounded the desk and kissed her forehead. "What're you doing here? I wasn't expecting you in the city for a little while."

He sat on the desk and smiled at her. "Just wanted to stop by and say hello. See what was happening with Noelle and Jax… I haven't talked to either of them in a little while."

The blonde nodded. "They're good. I just got off the phone with Janelle… She's three today and I'm sad that I'm missing it because I'm up here at this office and not at the one down in Orange County."

Happy furrowed his brow and nodded slowly. "Three huh? I'll have to send her a present or something. I actually miss her more than I thought I would."

"I miss her too. Noe said she's loving her dance academy and she's even made a couple of friends. Jax got a job as a mechanic and Abel is enjoying school, baseball and he has a crush on a little girl named Clover." Blair smiled and nodded. "She's doing good with her pregnancy, she's nauseous a lot."

"When you go to visit, let me know because I wanna tag along." He kissed his girlfriend before sitting on her lap. "You wanna grab some dinner? I want burgers."

She laughed. "Yeah, we can grab some burgers. I don't know what you're sitting on my lap for. You're so damn heavy Hap!"

The man shrugged before standing up. "I'm not that heavy! You're just tiny." He smirked at her before helping her to her feet. "Let's go, I'm sure they have a salad you can order when we get there."

Blair rolled her eyes. "After the news I just got today. I'm going to need to more than a goddamn salad. I'm getting me the biggest bacon cheeseburger the place makes."

"You'll take two bites and claim that you're full so get it with onion rings and I'll eat it when you bow out." Happy squeezed her hips as they walked out of the office building and towards her car. "I don't see why you always have those damn pencil skirts on. I hate them because you can never ride on the back of my bike."

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "I'm sorry but It's not my fault that I'm comfortable in skirts." She pointed at her body. "This one isn't as formal as the others. It's stretchy, so I can ride on the back of your bike if you want me on the back of it."

He nodded as she moved them towards his Dyna and placed the helmet on her head before smirking. "Safety first." He helped her on before climbing on in front of her. "You know the drill hold on tightly and move when I do."

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

"This burger is so good." Blair set her burger back down and smiled at Happy before she took a sip of her lemonade. "I've gotta eat here more often now."

Happy shook his head. "Stop eating like a damn bird and you would've known this place was good years ago."

She smiled and nodded. "I don't eat like a bird. I eat healthy, it keeps my body in the best shape possible. Don't see you complaining about that shit ever Happy."

He shrugged as he grabbed her drink and took a large sip. "I'm not complaining about how you look. Never will. I'm saying if you stop being so picky about what you're eating then you'd enjoy food a whole lot more B."

Blair smirked and nodded as she grabbed her drink back. "I'm gonna try to throw caution to the wind and just eat whatever and exercise a lot."

"Good. You need to ease up and stop taking shit so serious." He leaned over the table and kissed her. "Let's finish up here. I have to get to the clubhouse, so I'll drop you off back at work and then go."

She nodded and smile. "Sounds good to me."

Happy nodded. "Good, 'cause you didn't have much of a choice anyway."

"How old are you now?" Noelle looked at Janelle and smiled. "Are you two? Or are you four?"

Janelle shook her head and held up three fingers. "I'm three mommy! Not two or four!" She giggled as she adjusted her party hat on top of her head. "I'm the birthday girl! I'm a bigger girl right now!" She clapped her hands as Jax walked into the kitchen and lifted her off the counter and spun her around. "It's my birthday daddy!"

Jax kissed her forehead and smiled. "I know darlin' I was in the room when you were born! I was like look at this chunky little baby girl, I'm naming her Janelle."

"I was chunky?" Janelle giggled and shook her head.

"So chunky baby." Noelle poked at her daughter's cheeks. "You've seen your baby pictures, you were so big."

"Abel." Janelle watched her brother walk into the room. "Daddy put me down!" She wiggled as Jax slowly lowered her to the floor. "Abel!" She hugged him and smiled. "You want a hat?"

Abel shook his head. "No! It's pink Monster. Do you have a blue one?"

She looked to her parents. "No. I have purple." She frowned as she looked up at her mom. "Purple, like my juice."

"Everything is compared to her juice." Jax smirked at Noelle before turning his eyes back on his children and watching as Janelle tried to put a purple hat on Abel, only for him to covered his head with his arms. "He doesn't want a hat Nelly, leave him alone. You and your mom can be the festive ones."

"It's for girls." Abel pointed at the purple hat and shook his head. "Where are the boy ones."

"I'm not getting into this mess because I think purple is a boy color too." Noelle grabbed Janelle's hand and smiled. "Let's see if we can't call Melody and see what her and uncle Kozik are doing today."

Janelle smiled. "I wanna eat pizza!" She climbed into Noelle's lap and smiled. "I am three."

"You wanna grab pizza? You wanna go to the pizzeria?" Noelle brushed her daughter's hair out of her face and smiled. "We can go eat some pizza, play some games, you can come home and open your presents. Do you want to do that? Or do you want the pizza to be brought here?"

"Here." She nodded. "I wanna open those!" She pointed to the corner of the room where her presents sat.

"You sure you wanna open those dear?" Noelle smiled. "You can open the pink bag, go grab it and bring it back and I'll help you."

Janelle grabbed the pink bag and dragged it back to her mom and smiled. "What's in there?" She grabbed a handful of tissue paper and tossed it behind her. "Tutu!" She pulled out the orange and black tutu out before pulling out a blue and purple tutu. "Two tutus!"

"You can use them in class." The brunette smiled. "You're going to look so good in them."

The three year old nodded and smiled as she stepped into both tutus and did a twirl. "So pretty." She smiled widely. "Thank you!"

Noelle nodded and smiled. "You're welcome baby… Now let's finish enjoying the rest of your birthday.

 **SOA**

"Everything is looking good, the baby looks healthy, you look healthy." Dr. Mills smiled at Noelle and Jax. "Everything is on track, you'll be able to find out the sex in about a month or so depending on if the baby wants to cooperate and be positioned correctly."

Noelle smiled as she looked at the printouts. "We're glad to hear that. We were just worried because I'm super nauseous and it's driving us both insane." She raked her fingers through her long brown hair and smiled at Jax. "So, a month from now and we'll be back for the appointment?"

"Yes, a month from now." Dr. Mills nodded. "If anything feels off before then just make another appointment and we'll get you in before the next date."

"Thanks." Jax smiled at the doctor, his eyes on her face before he looked back at Noelle. "We should head out. We gotta grab Abel and Nelly." He stood up before lacing his fingers through Noelle's and leading her out of the room and towards the exit. "I don't like that doctor… She's weird."

The brunette nodded. "I got the weird vibe too." She smirked at him as they walked out of the office building. "She's supposedly the best in the city though and we want the best for the little baby. Your future son."

"Thinking we should name him Jackson II" He smirked at his wife as he helped her into his truck. "No? That's a solid ass name."

"I think it'd be confusing. Jax and Jax… Unless you wanna call him JT?" Noelle flipped the visor as she watched Jax walk around the front of the truck and climb in. "Would you be down for a baby JT?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, JT would be good. I wouldn't mind calling my youngest son that." Jax smiled at her before he pulled out of the parking lot. "Abel first then the ballerina?"

"Yeah, that sounds good to me." She smiled as she pulled her legs up and rested her feet on the dashboard, her attention being pulled behind them at the rumble of Harleys. "Holy shit babe…" She smacked her husband's arm and looked behind them. "They look familiar huh?"

Jax tensed up slightly as he watched the guys ride past them, the Reaper staring at him. "They're a little further south than normal. I wonder why." He glanced at Noelle who was now looking down at her phone. "You talk to Happy lately?"

"Uh, no but I talked to my mom this morning and he's coming down with her when she visits soon. You can see if you can get the scoop then babe." She reached over and rubbed his neck and smiled. "I know you're having a hard time not being a part of the club Jax. It's alright… It's not a well hidden secret."

He nodded as he relaxed somewhat under her touch as he pulled into the pick up line of Abel's school. "So what? We just sit here and the kids come to us?" He turned off his truck and looked around at all the other cars. "I'm thinking that we should've brought your SUV."

Noelle shrugged. "Oh well… Your truck is nice. We don't wanna fit in, we wanna stand out a little bit baby." She leaned over and kissed his neck and smiled. "The teachers will walk their class out and we can stand outside of the truck so Abel can see us, then he'll walk over to us."

Jax shook his head. "Seems like a whole lot of trouble." He opened his door and got out before moving around the truck to meet Noelle. "Now I see why you pick him up, this is annoying."

"You have to have patience." She wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled. "He'll be excited to see you standing out here waiting for him. You can see how cute he treats Clover. It's adorable."

He chuckled as he pulled her closer and rested his head on hers. "You really shouldn't encourage that relationship… It's a disaster waiting to happen. I'm not ready for my son to have a little _girlfriend_." He shook his head as the bell rang and more parents started to get out of their cars. "Everyone is so clean cut, bunch of suits."

She scoffed and poked at his side. "Relax, damn. You're not cutting your hair off either, It's finally long and perfect again. I dunno if I can handle the short buzz cut you had going on."

"It wasn't a buzzcut, it was just short and neat." Jax shrugged. "I'm relaxed, I'm just saying all these parents look snobby and stuck up."

"You can sit with moms at the dance academy but can't keep to yourself here?" She shook her head. "They're probably trying to figure out if you're Brad Pitt's distant cousin right now… Look at all the moms checking you out babe. You're such a neck breaker."

He laughed, watching as Abel started towards them. "I don't see his little girlfriend, think they broke up already?"

Noelle rolled her eyes as she walked towards Abel and took his backpack. "No Clover today baby?"

Abel shook his head and shrugged. "I don't like her anymore, she was mean to me."

"What happened my love?" She asked as they reached Jax and the truck. "What did she do?"

"She told me that I can't have to mommies." He looked at Noelle and frowned. "Is that true?"

The brunette shook her head. "You can have two mommies, Wendy is your mommy and I'm your mommy because I love you and married your dad. If it makes it easier for you, you can always call me Noe or Noelle."

Abel nodded. "Alright."

Jax frowned as he watched his wife get into the truck and slip her sunglasses back down over her eyes and face forward. "It's alright… It'll pass babe." He squeezed her thigh and smiled at her as he started the truck and followed the line of cars back out of the school's parking lot and towards the dance academy to pick up their daughter. "Don't think he'll call you that." He whispered as he wiped the tear off her cheek.

She nodded and laced her fingers through his. "I know, sometimes I just forget you know? That I didn't actually give birth to him." She mumbled as she focused her gaze on the rose ahead of them, drawing closer and closer to Janelle's dance academy. "I wonder if she had fun in her new tumbling class, she should be too tired to even run around when we get home. It'll give me a chance to make dinner in peace."

He laughed as he pulled into the parking lot and turned off the truck. "You want me to grab her babe?"

Noelle shook her head as she opened the door. "No, I can grab her." She smiled at him before closing the door behind her and quickly moving towards the pristine white building. "Hi." She smiled at the director. "My little hellion was good in class today right? We had second thoughts about putting her in another program. Didn't think she would be old enough to handle it, Heather."

Heather smiled and shook her head. "She did amazing. She is a natural at tumbling, she picked up the tricks so fast. I'm thinking that she needs to think about acrobatics when she's a bit older and see if she likes that style of dance."

"Oh that's a relief to hear." The brunette chuckled as she rested her hand on her chest and peered inside of the class. "There's my beauty." She lightly tapped on the window, getting Janelle's full attention. "Poor thing, looks worn out." She moved into the class and straight to the three year old and scooped her up in a tight hug. "Man, I missed you so much my love. Did you have fun? Are you ready for a nap? Yeah?"

"Yeah." Janelle rubbed her eyes and cuddled against her mom. "Nap."

"Alright." She smiled at Heather as she walked out of the class. "I'll see you around, I'm gonna get her home and down for a nap." Continuing through the building, Noelle held her breath, hoping that she wouldn't run into Mallory, the only person she wanted to avoid in the whole academy.

"Noelle!" Mallory caught the brunette as she was walking out of the building. "You still haven't called me about a playdate with the girls. I was just over there talking to Jax."

Noelle sighed. "I'm not in the mood for playdates. I'm in the first trimester of my pregnancy and all I'm focused on is not throwing up." She shook her head. "Now, when I want to have a playdate I'll make sure to reach out." She blew past the woman and straight to the truck, allowing Jax to take the sleeping three year old and her duffel away from her. "She's so needy." She looked at Mallory and rolled her eyes. "I wanna go home and relax."

Jax nodded and climbed back into the truck. "Yeah, let's go home and you can nap with Nelly, I'll pick up some dinner when you two are dropped off. Abel is gonna come with me." He squeezed Noelle's knee. "Are you good with that plan?" He watched her nod. "Good, then let's get the two of you home and into bed." He smiled as he glanced at his wife, feeling a bit better that he now knew he was missing his old life. It was no longer a secret he had to keep to himself, now he just had to figure out how to get over the club and be a law abiding citizen.

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 **Let me know what you thought...**


	21. Baby Whisperer

**So this is chapter '21' in this story. That PSA was just a throwaway. I just had the inspiration to write a chapter and update it. I hope you guys enjoy it a lot.**

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Noelle poked at her stomach, smiling at the baby bump that was getting bigger by the weeks, making her look less fat and more pregnant. She dropped the hem of Jax's SAMCRO shirt, rolling her eyes as it still hung loosely on her. "Babe! Are you awake?" She looked back at her bed and saw that Jax was still snoring soundly. "You have to be to work in a hour." She poked at his sides, laughing when he grabbed her wrist. "You're such a fake!"

"I just wanna sleep a little longer." Jax pulled the brunette into his side and smiled. "Work kicked my ass yesterday… I knew being a mechanic was work but I didn't think it was _that_ much work. It's a good paycheck though."

"I know, the bank account is looking really nice right now." She kissed his neck and smiled. "Good news, I got a cute baby bump. It's perfect and I can't wait to see what's on board in a couple of months. I'm crossing my fingers for a little Jax."

He nodded as he buried his face in her hair, inhaling the scent for a moment. "I'm proud of my honest earning. It's all I've ever wanted." He mumbled softly. "I guess I need to get up and go to work. I can't believe you got Abel to school without a cup of coffee to wake you up."

"All part of being of mom… Speaking of which, my mom and Happy are still fast asleep. Even though Nelly went and jumped on them. I had to check to make sure they were still alive and kicking." She laughed as she watched her husband slowly move out of bed and towards the closet. "I'm still getting used to Abel calling me Noe again. It makes me sad but I sorta understand why."

Jax looked at her and furrowed his brow. "It'll pass babe… If not then we'll have to set some shit up with Wendy, so they can talk or whatever. It's not what I want for him but I'm not gonna torture him by keeping him away from her." He moved towards her and pressed a soft kiss to her lips and smiled as he rubbed his hand over her belly. "You're getting rounder there babe."

"Yeah I know. I don't mind him and Wendy having a relationship, as long as she doesn't start letting Gemma be her puppet master." Noelle smiled. "Yeah, I am. I'm excited, it means my shirts will show an actually baby bump and not make me look squishy and fat."

"We'll just see how shit plays out." He kissed her again and smirked. "You never looked squishy or fat babe… You look pregnant."

The brunette nodded and shrugged. "I love you, now get to work babe before I drag you back into this comfortable ass bed and make you cuddle me forever and ever."

"That's what I want!" He chuckled as he pulled his work pants on. "I love you too babe. Give Nelly a hug for me when she wakes up again. I'll see you around six."

Noelle nodded. "I made you lunch, it's on the counter and I put a beer in one of those thermos things. It'll be ice cold for at least five hours after you take it out the fridge. Or you can put it back in the fridge if you have one at work."

Jax smiled. "Yeah, we have a fridge at work babe… We're not stuck in the middle ages." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'll see you at dinnertime."

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"Nelly, Nelly, Nelly!" Noelle looked at her daughter and laughed. "What are you doing? You know you're not supposed to be in my makeup. Look at your face, you've got lipstick on your eyelids and eyeshadow on your lips. My little backwards baby." She shook her head. "Let's get you all cleaned up my pretty pretty princess."

"I love my makeup mommy." Janelle smiled up at her mom. "Take a picture so you can show daddy!"

"You really want a picture?" The brunette pulled out her camera and started taking pictures. "Oh yeah, these are going up on the wall babygirl." She passed the camera to the little girl. "Look at you, you look absolutely stunning."

Janelle nodded. "I look good." The three year old smiled and passed the camera back. "I wanna show Happy those later!"

"Show me what kid?" Happy lifted the little girl up. "What have you got going on right now? You look like your mom!"

"I'm trying to clean it up a little." Noelle smiled at Happy. "Had to stop for a photo session though. I had to give her what she wanted."

"You gonna let your mom clean your face up?" He looked down at the tiny brunette who was too busy tracing the letters on his patches to even answer him. "I guess that's a no."

"I'll just grab a wipe and wipe her face down." She shrugged. "You got her for a little bit while I grab them?"

Happy smiled. "Yes, I got her for a little bit. Take your time, take a nap if you want. I can watch her."

"I don't need a nap." Noe shook her head. "I don't have to pick up Abel today, he's going to his little friend's house. They're gonna drop him back off here tomorrow afternoon. It's his first sleepover at a friend's. I'm excited for him."

"Abel is stupid." Janelle chimed in, poking Happy's forehead. "He says he gots a different mommy!"

Happy exchanged looks between the brunette and slowly nodded his head. "I guess that means all you gotta do is share your mommy with the new baby. No more sharing her with Abel."

"She picks up on everything." Noelle shrugged. "It's insane… Ever the observant little thing."

He nodded again and set Janelle on her feet. "Go find your grandma, I think she's outside on the phone. Tell that woman you need all her attention and don't want her doing business. Got it Nelly?"

Janelle nodded. "Yes! No business for Gran Gran!"

"Yeah, go set her ass straight. This is vacation not business." Happy watched the three year old run off before looking at Noelle. "Spill it… I can see the wheels turning and the emotions building up. I know you well enough now."

"Well, I'm upset about the whole Abel thing. I'm also pregnant so my emotions may be a bit over exaggerated but I don't want to set up a potential custody setup with Wendy. That means a trip up to Charming, that means Gemma, that means the club. That means absolute drama and bullshit that I don't need or want. What if he slips up?" She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "I don't want to lose him."

"Gotta get your mind out of the negative thinking." He pulled her into a tight hug. "Unless Wendy has made some drastic changes, there's no way a custody agreement will happen… You need to focus on what's certain and not the what ifs."

"That's logical but to my pregnant emotions, it's illogical and something I should worry about." She sighed. "I just wanna keep my family together… That's all."

Happy looked at her and slowly nodded his head. "Yeah I know. It'll stay together if you can keep your head on straight. Pregnancy or not, you gotta stop, take a breath and think shit through before just acting on emotion."

"I'm trying to keep my head." Noelle nodded as she wiped at her face. "I'm trying to keep my shit together. I honestly didn't think the whole Abel thing would affect me as much… It just was a shock to go from mommy to Noe overnight."

"It's alright. You got a kid on the way that'll call you mommy… All you can do is still love Abel and treat him as if he's your own." Happy smiled. "It won't be too hard."

"Yeah, I love the kid to death." She smiled. "Just like he's my own."

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Jax walked into the house, instantly being attacked by his three year old. "Hello you to you too darlin'." He lifted her up and peppered her face with kisses, smiling as she started to laugh and squirm in his arms. "You have a good day?"

Janelle nodded. "Yes! I got to do some makeup on my face, just like mommy's! Then Happy and Grams took me to dance. The lady there fell over 'cause she was ascared of Happy!"

"Oh yeah? She just saw him and fell over?" He laughed and shook his head. "The word is afraid not ascared."

"She was afraid! She went 'aaahhh!' and fell over." She giggled and kissed his nose. "I laughed at her but Grams said it wasn't funny."

He nodded. "I'm sad that I wasn't there to see it. That must have been a sight." He cradled her and smirked. "Where's your mom? Did you tire her out?"

"She's in the nursery!" Janelle grabbed a hold of one her dad's hands and stared at it for a moment before smiling. "Your hand is so huge daddy!"

"I know! It's this size so if you're bad I can spank you." Jax walked up the stairs, and went straight for the nursery. "Hey babe." He sidled up to her and kissed her neck. "What're you staring at?"

Noelle smiled at the pair. "I'm trying to see if inspiration strikes. I want a clean and perfect layout in here but I think I'm overthinking it. I'm just trying to keep busy." She sighed as she played with Janelle's curly hair. "You have a good day?"

He nodded. "I did have a good day. Got to work on a Harley, so you know it was a good day." He smiled. "We'll go furniture shopping for this room soon… Just gotta see what's cooking up in there. Nell, tell your baby brother or sister that they need to hurry up so we can meet them."

"Hurry up baby! Get outta there!" Janelle rubbed her mom's stomach and giggled. "It hit me!"

"The baby kicked your hand!" Noelle laughed. "He or she loves you already! You're gonna be a good big sister huh? Teach the baby how to jump on the trampoline when they're old enough… You're gonna have so much fun."

"I'm gonna teach him how to swim!" The brunette nodded and smiled. "The baby just told me he's a boy!"

"Is that right? You're a baby whisperer?" Jax lifted his daughter back up and hugged her tightly. "Well, Noe, you heard the princess! We're having a prince. We can go baby shopping now."

"I'm going baby shopping too! I wanna help buy stuff for him." Janelle rested her head on his shoulder and yawned. "It's going to be so fun."

"Well, look at that. She's falling asleep." Noelle smiled. "I hope she really is right about the baby being a boy. I really need a boy. I wanna see what he'll look like."

"Yeah." Jax nodded and smile. "I'm sure we're gonna be having another daughter… It'll be our luck."

"It'll be like me and Melo… Double trouble." She smiled and nodded. "I'm holding out for a boy."

He shrugged, moving out of the nursery, Janelle still in his arms. "Come on Noe, I'm putting you guys down for a nap. You can sleep an hour or so, waiting for the pizza. You can stay up all night and sleep in all day. I don't have work tomorrow."

"I'm gonna take you up on pizza and a nap because I totally blanked on dinner." She crawled into bed, tossing back the covers as Jax laid Janelle down next to her. "I love you Jax… So much." She smiled and yawned as he replaced the blanket. "I want a small pizza with pepperoni, sausage and salami… With garlic dipping sauce."

"I love you too." Jax kissed her forehead and smiled. "I know you're usual order babe. I'll wake you both up when it's here."

 **SOA**

"Daddy!" Janelle jumped off the trampoline and into her dad's waiting arms. "Did you see how high I jumped!?"

Jax nodded and smiled. "Yes, I saw how high you jumped! It was pretty awesome." He let her crawl back into the the enclosed trampoline before following after her. "You gonna teach me how to jump?"

"Yes!" The tiny brunette nodded, grabbing ahold of her dad's hands as she started jumping. "You just gotta use your feet! Copy me!"

"Am I even doing this right?" He laughed as he watched his daughter jump all over the place. "I think you're jumping around like a little monkey!"

"You hungry yet?" Noelle looked up at her husband and daughter. "She's been jumping for a few hours… Right after breakfast and she came out here and started jumping. She's going to be passed out in the next hour or so."

"I don't see how she does it." Jax crawled out of the trampoline and laid on the grass, trying to catch his breath. "It's tiring. I feel like I jumped an hour and I've only been here for ten minutes."

She shook her head. "You're just getting old babe." She looked back to Janelle and sighed. "Nelly come on, you can come back out and jump after you eat something… Stop jumping and come inside for a few moments babe."

"Alright." Janelle sighed and stopped jumping. "Only a few moments mom." She climbed down the trampoline ladder and went straight for her dad. "Come on daddy! Let's go eat some burritos." She grabbed his hands and tried tugging him off the ground. "You're heavy!"

Jax laughed as he started moving off the ground. "Look at you! You're strong, you helped me off the grass." He picked her up and tickled her sides. "We're gonna eat, then we can come back outside and have some fun. Happy and Blair will be back soon, to say bye because they have to go back home."

"Oh no!" She shook her head. "No tickles daddy! No! No! No!" She giggled and shook her head as they walked back into the house. "Noooo! Mommy help me! Help me!"

Noelle laughed and pulled Janelle away from Jax. "I helped you babygirl! I helped you. I saved you from the tickles! Love me forever!"

"I love you mommy!" Janelle kissed her mom and smiled. "Forever! No more tickles from daddy!"

"Just wait, she won't be around forever." Jax smirked at the two brunettes as they moved into the kitchen, pausing as they looked at Blair and Happy who both stopped talking as they noticed each other. "That's never a good sign…"

"They were probably gossiping like high school girls." Noelle smiled at her mom and Happy as she set Janelle down at the breakfast nook. "What's wrong mom?"

Blair cleared her throat and looked at Noelle before looking at Jax. "I need to tell you something… It's about Wendy..." She sighed, watching as Jax tensed up and Noelle looked at him. "It's very serious." She nodded, watching the couple move closer together, their fingers intertwining. She shook her head, trying to find the right words as she watched their life begin to crumble before her.

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 **let me know what you thought. Feedback is encouraged as I try to get back into the swing of things. This story probably will be updated at least once a week, maybe twice if it has good feedback.  
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	22. Charming

"I didn't see that coming…" Noelle looked between Blair and Happy as she heard another crash come from upstairs, it was without a doubt Jax working through his anger about the news he had just received; Abel might not even be his biological son and Wendy was hanging on by a thread, another overdose on crank. "I need some air."

Blair nodded. "You can't get yourself all worked up about this shit, you're _pregnant_." She pointed at Noelle's stomach. "You need to be calm and relaxed, for the baby."

"I'm well aware that I'm pregnant." The brunette groaned as she rubbed her protruding belly. "You just told my husband that his ex wife who's basically on her deathbed told her lawyer and Gemma that Jax may not even be the father of Abel! How is that possible? The first two tests he took said that little boy is his!"

"Noelle, calm down." Happy rasped as he saw the brunette becoming more and more worked up. "Ain't no good to you or the baby if you get all worked up."

Noelle shook her head. "I know! Stop fucking reminding me that I'm pregnant! My husband's world just came crashing down! He's spent the last few years making up for the first years he missed out on with Abel and now you're saying that he might not even be the father. We're really going to trust the words of a dying junkie!?" She sighed, leaning against the counter to steady her breathing and calm herself down as she felt herself becoming dizzy.

"Noelle, sit down." Blair helped her daughter to the kitchen table and sit down. "You need to just relax right now… Happy get her some water."

"Mom!" The brunette rested her head against the table and started crying. "This wasn't supposed to happen! We were supposed to work through the last little bit of problem and live happily ever after. You hear that shit up there? That man is broken…"

Blair sighed and nodded as she looked over at her boyfriend who just shrugged. "Let him work through this Noelle. He's gotta work through the hurt and pain, it's better that he's getting out that burst of anger out right now before he does something stupid. We all know he's going to be heading up to Charming to work this shit all out. You gotta be strong right now, you gotta take care of yourself and Janelle. Let Jax take Abel and solve this once and for all."

Noelle nodded. "I don't get this, not at all. The test said he was the father."

"We think Tara may have had a hand in that. Forged the test results for Gemma and Wendy because she was angry with you." She shook her head. "We're still working through shit, I'm working with Wendy's lawyer, we're trying to get all of this shit figured out."

"Why. Would. She. Do. That?" The brunette said through gritted teeth as she turned her head to look at her mom. "Nevermind. I understand it, Gemma probably forced Wendy to do that shit… She's a fucking puppet master. That woman is insane! I wish she would have died that day!"

"Relax little girl." Happy looked down at Noelle and shook his head. "Put your energy in your daughter… Let Jax take care of this shit. You hear me?"

She nodded. "I got it." She stood up slowly from the chair and grabbed the bottle of water. "I'm going to lay down, make sure Janelle isn't scared in her room or anything." She moved out of the kitchen and slowly up the stairs as she heard the crashing cease, she moved to her bedroom and opened the door, finding Jax on the end of their bed, his head in his hands. "Jackson."

"Not now Noelle." Jax shook his head, not bothering to look at his wife. "I'm not ready to talk about this shit. I need to be alone."

Noelle back out of the room and closed the door before moving to Janelle's room, finding the three year old wide awake and on the floor playing with her legos. "Hey baby girl."

"Hi mommy!" Janelle smiled up at her mom. "Wanna play legos with me? I'm building a castle for my Barbie!"

"Yeah babe." She lowered herself onto the floor and started sorting through the legs. "A castle for Barbie huh? What'd she do to deserve that?"

"She's a Princess Barbie! Look at her Tiara mommy!" The little girl held up the doll and smiled. "I got a whole princess room so she needs one too!" She pointed to the castle bed in the far corner of the room and grinned. "Princesses get princess stuff."

"Aren't you a smart little nugget." The brunette chuckled as she reminded herself that she couldn't cry in front of her daughter. "Let's build this castle for Princess Barbie so she has a place to live."

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Jax set the bottle of Jack Daniel's down and rubbed his hands up and down his face, his mind still reeling from the news that Blair had said. Abel might not even be his, according to his ex wife who had managed to land herself on a deathbed with Gemma at her side every step of the way. He shook his head, settling deeper into the recliner. "This is fucked up." He mumbled as he looked to Happy who was drinking a beer as he watched cartoons, Janelle curled up on his chest.

Happy nodded. "I know man, what are you going to do?"

"I have to take Abel up to Charming, get an actual DNA test done, one by a doctor that isn't an ex of mine… I don't even know where'd I go from there." He sighed. "He's my kid. I love him, he's my son but I can't fucking believe that bitch lied to me, that my mom would do this shit to me. LIke for what reason?"

"Control. Maybe she thought she'd keep you closer if she could tie you to Abel." Happy shrugged. "I don't know but you gotta figure this shit out before it takes a toll on your family here. Noelle doesn't need the stress, you know that. I say, get it taken care of before it's too damn late. Don't lose your family because your mom was trying to be manipulative."

"I know… I'm trying to look at this shit from Noelle's point of view. Get it settled with. I still want Abel as a part of the family regardless because I love him but I need to know if my mom dug herself in deeper with this shit." He sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "This isn't a situation I never thought I'd be in… Never."

Happy nodded. "Well, no normal family would be dealing with this shit… Your mom caused this hit for you. You got her to blame for this mess… The majority of your problems stem from her trying to keep you in her grasp. Guaranteed that when you go up to Charming, she'll claim that she had nothing to do with this shit and that it was all on Wendy and Tara."

"I know. That's exactly what she's gonna do." He moved out of his recliner and moved towards Happy, picking up Janelle. "I'm gonna put her in her bed… Don't need her waking up to this discussion."

"Smart idea." The man smiled. "She's a smart little thing."

"Nosey as hell too… Sometimes she'll be pretending to be sleep when she's really listening to every damn word me and her mom have to say." Jax moved towards the stairs. "If I take longer than five minutes, it means she's awake and wants me to read her a bedtime story." He ascended the stairs slowly and carefully as he walked towards Janelle's room, feeling her hands tugged on his shirt. "I knew you were faking."

"Not uh daddy." Janelle whispered as she settled into her bed. "Cuddle with me please daddy?"

Jax nodded as he squeezed into the ridiculous castle bed with his daughter and yawned. "Your bed is comfortable, can I sleep in here with you darlin'?"

"Yes." She nodded as she patted his face. "Don't be sad daddy. I am here for you right now." She kissed his chin and laughed when his beard tickled her. "Your face tickles."

"I love you Janelle." He kissed her forehead and sighed. "I'm not sad anymore."

 **SOA**

Noelle shook her head as she watched Jax carry his bag down the stairs. "How long will you be gone?"

Jax paused looking at his wife. "I'll be gone until I get the DNA test results back… Your mom is going to meet me in Charming, I still want her as my lawyer." He dropped his bag to the ground and pulled the brunette into a tight embrace. "It shouldn't be longer than a week, I don't know what the procedure is going to be if he's not actually mine…"

She nodded her head. "I wish me and Nelly were going."

He nodded and furrowed his brows together. "I know but I don't want her around that mess babe… You two are better here. I'll keep you in the loop. I promise baby." He kissed her as he rubbed a hand over her belly. "Take care of Little Jax."

"I will take care of him… If the baby is actually a him." She wiped at her eyes and forced herself to smile as she watched Abel come down the stairs carrying his backpack. "Have a safe trip you two."

He frowned as he wiped her face free of tears. "We won't be gone for too long." He kissed her forehead as he rubbed the back of her head. "I love you Noelle."

"I love you too." She smiled and nodded slowly. "We'll be waiting for you two to get back." She hugged him before moving out into the backyard as she caught her breath. "Nelly, what're you doing back here baby?"

Janelle hopped towards her mom and hugged her legs. "I'm being a bunny rabbit!" She started hopping in place and laughing. "See mommy!? I'm a hoppy bunny!"

"Go tell your dad and brother bye. They're going to be gone for a little bit, doing boy stuff." Noelle smiled at her daughter. "Hop on inside and give them hugs and kisses."

The brunette nodded and began hopping into the house. "Daddy! I wanna do boy stuff!"

Jax scooped his daughter up and shrugged. "Next time darlin'. I promise you. Can I get a hug and kiss?"

Janelle nodded as she kissed him and hugged his neck. "Have fun! Bring me a Barbie back!" She laughed as she was set back on her feet. "Bye Abel!" She hopped to him and hugged him. "Remind daddy to buy me a Barbie!"

Abel nodded his head as he eyed his younger sister. "Bye Monster."

"You ready buddy?" Jax grabbed his bag as he looked down at Abel. "We got a long ride ahead of us."

He nodded and smiled. "I'm ready to go…" He looked back at the sliding doors and watched as Noelle picked up Janelle and hugged her. "Is Noe mad at me?"

"No, she's not mad at you. Why do you think she's mad?" Jax frowned as they walked into the garage and to his truck.

"She didn't say bye to me." Abel sighed as he climbed into the truck and sat in his booster seat. "She usually says bye."

"She's sad right now because of the baby" He climbed into the truck. "She'll call you and talk to you when we get there. You know Noe loves you. Now, let's get on the road to Charming. We got some things to handle with your mom and Gemma."

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Jackson carried Abel and their bags up the walkway of his old home, feeling a sudden burst of nostalgia hitting him as he reached the door and pressed the doorbell. He still had a key but he didn't want to just enter the house that his best friend Opie was living in now with his two kids. "We're in Charming." He whispered to Abel.

Opie opened the door and looked at Jax and smiled. "It's good to have you home man." He pulled him into a hug and nodded. "Sorry it's on bullshit circumstances like this but still, it's good to see that ugly mug in Charming again."

He laughed and shook his head as he socked Opie's arm. "Missed you too man." He set Abel down and stretched. "How's the house treating you?'

"Good, good." Opie nodded. "The kids are loving it. They love the stability and all of the shit that goes with having bills paid without fault."

Jax looked around, taking note of the fact that it was set up exactly the way he and Noelle had left it months earlier. "I'm glad, I'm glad. We won't be here too long hopefully. Just gonna straighten shit out with Wendy then we're headed back. Noelle isn't doing so well with this whole situation. I can't leave her too long, especially since she's pregnant."

"You know where everything is. Make yourself at home, you'll have Janelle's old room, Kenny's new room. He's gonna crash on the sofa out here with Abel." Opie smiled as he patted Jax's back. "I gotta head to church. I'll catch you after."

"Yeah, man." He grinned. "I'll make myself at home. I can't even see Wendy until tomorrow anyway… I'll grab a beer and just relax."

"Good." Opie shrugged on his kutte and moved towards the door. "Ellie is in her room, Kenny won't be home for a few more hours. You'll have peace and quiet."

The man sank down into his old recliner and nodded as he watched Abel lay across the leather sofa. "I missed this recliner man… Let's enjoy this time, we'll see your mom first thing tomorrow morning. You got it?"

Abel nodded as he closed his eyes and yawned. "Yeah, I get to see mommy in the morning."

"Good." Jax sighed as he felt himself relax more into the chair, feeling bad that he was actually looking forward to being back in Charming for the next week, despite the fact it was for something as fucked up as his ex wife lying to him. "We'll find out the truth soon…" He whispered to himself as he toed his Nikes off and closed his eyes, willing himself to fall asleep without struggle as his mind began to wander off to thoughts of Noelle and Janelle. He yawned, knowing that he was here to make sure his family stayed whole.

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 **Thanks for the support on the previous chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, just let me know what you thought. I know I'm looking forward to all the upcoming drama.**


	23. Blair

**Sorry for not updating last week. I just couldn't get the chapter to come out right.**

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"I don't care." Blair hissed into her phone before ending the call abruptly as she entered St. Thomas. Her heels clicking against the scuffed linoleum as she made her way to the bank of elevators. She was there on official business, to oversee the DNA testing but she was also there for personal business: to see Wendy Case. "I'm here." She pulled her son-in-law Jax into a hug and smiled. "You ready for this?"

Jax nodded slowly, his eyes flickering between the blonde and his son. "Yeah, I'm ready for this shit." He rubbed his chin as the elevator doors opened and they walked in. "So, how does this shit go anyway? You just stand and watch everything happen?"

She nodded. "Well, nothing bad should happen. Tara has been put on suspension for malpractice, Wendy is out of commission and I'm not sure about your mom but she better not be around here… I don't take kindly to people messing with my daughter. You're now going to a whole new side of me Jackson. I'm about to take down every one of these women who've messed with you and my daughter." She looked at him briefly before stepping out of the elevator on their floor.

"I'm going to love to see that." He smirked as he grabbed Abel's hand and followed the blonde to the office. "Hey darlin' I'm checking in for Teller." He knocked on the receptionist's desk and flashed her an award winning smile.

"I'll let the doctor know you're here." The redhead behind the desk nodded and smiled. "Just have a seat and he'll call you back when ready."

Blair took a seat and crossed her legs as she stared at Abel who was doing his best to hide in Jax's side. "What's wrong with you Abel? Don't you like being back in Charming?"

Abel shrugged as he looked at Blair. "Yeah, I do. I got to see the guys at the clubhouse last night."

She smiled. "That's good. You're just nervous huh? They're only going to swab your cheek, no needles or anything."

"How long is it going to take to get the results back?" Jax looked up from his phone and smiled. "Noe sent me a picture of Janelle painting her belly. I love it."

"Two days." Blair nodded. "Which means, I have two days to put the fear of God into these women that want to mess with my family. Where I come from, we don't do this type of shit. That's for sure."

"Teller." The nurse smiled. "If you would follow me back."

"Here we go." Jax stood up and rubbed his palms on his jeans. "I'm sure whatever you do will put the fear of something into those women."

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Blair moved with purpose towards the hospital room she knew Wendy Case would be in. She had just finished with the DNA test and now her mind was solely on Wendy: more precisely making Wendy pay for the emotional stress she was causing Noelle, who didn't need nor deserve it. "Hello Miss Case." She smirked at Wendy as she drew the blinds on the door and window. "We've got some things to talk about."

"I've already said all that I could to my lawyer." Wendy rasped as she looked at the blonde approaching her side slowly. "There's nothing we need to speak about here… I'm not in the mood or mindset to do so."

She chuckled as she looked at the IV bags before turning her icy blue glare on Wendy. "See, I'm not here on lawyer business. I'm here on personal business. You see, when you Gemma and Tara decided to gang up and screw with Jax, you screwed with my daughter too. Unlike Gemma, I'm a protective mother. I like to see my daughter happy, living her life. You three fucked it up. Noelle is pregnant, Jax should be down there with her, not fucking around with this bullshit up here and Charming."

"What're you going to do?" Wendy kept her eyes on the blonde, watching her pull a syringe from her purse. "Really? You're going to dope me up? It'll look a bit suspicious don't you think Blair?"

"It's not drugs." Blair shook her head. "Nope… This is a blood thinner. It can cause your body to do some unpleasant things. You're on a blood thinner already, so this won't even look too suspicious if you just, ya know? Stop breathing."

Wendy shook her head. "You won't do it. You're not going to kill me over this shit… I'm just trying to be honest. It's a part of the recovery process. Jax may not be Abel's father… It's not that big of a deal."

She scoffed. " _It's not that big of a deal_. You, Gemma and Tara fucked with results of a DNA test. It had to be a big deal. If Tara messed with the results, you don't actually know if Jax is his father or not. I suggest you try to make amends while this drug is making it's way through your body." Blair stepped forward and inserted the syringe into Wendy's IV tube and emptied the contents. "If you're religious, you better start praying. Hope for a miracle. I got another bitch to take down."

 **SOA**

"Happy know you're coming up to the clubhouse?" Jax looked at Blair as they walked side by side towards the SAMCRO clubhouse. "Or are you here to put the fear of God into Tara or Gemma?"

Blair smiled. "He knows but I'm here to play nice. _Possibly_." She shrugged as they walked into the barely lit clubhouse. "I'm thinking that I'll only put the fear of God into either of the two if they look at me weird. I don't take too kindly to people making Noe upset."

"I think you've been hanging around Happy too long." He smirked and shook his head as his eyes scanned the group and quickly found Opie. "I'm going to talk to Ope, keep yourself out of trouble. Alight _mom_?" He smiled before swaggering off towards his best friend. "Ope."

Opie smiled down at Jax. "You replaced one mom with a new one… She better than your old mom?"

Jax chuckled and shrugged. "Yeah, she's better than the old one. She's cool."

"She's hot." Opie laughed. "What? You've got a hot blonde mom and as sick as it sounds, she looks like your actual mom… Gemma not so much."

"Noe would kick your ass if she heard you were ogling her mom." He shook his head. "My kid wouldn't come up here. He wanted to hang out with Kenny and play video games instead of hanging out with his Uncle Opie."

"I'd play video games too." The large man shook his head. "I'm not even gonna be mad at him. How was the test? They get it done without any corruption?"

Jax nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I'm just trying not to go crazy waiting for the results to come back. I'm also trying to keep Blair from killing off all the women."

Opie eyed Blair for a moment before shrugging. "She doesn't seem like the crazy type… Killing seems more like Gemma."

The blonde shrugged. "It could be a Blair thing. She's protective of Noelle. I think she'd do anything and everything to make sure her daughter isn't hurt. She's made that clear. She hasn't done anything yet but who knows."

"Never thought you'd set foot back in here." Gema crossed her arms as she came to a stop in front of her son. "You look good though Jackson. Glad to see your wife is feeding you properly."

Jax scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Can't even say her name. You're a piece of work Gemma." He growled through clenched teeth. "You're the reason I'm up here with Abel instead of home with Noelle and my daughter. This bullshit you cooked up with Wendy and Tara to fuck with me. Didn't bank on Wendy wanting to clear her conscience huh?"

The brunette shrugged. "I was just playing into shit Wendy gave me… The kid is yours Jackson. Looks like ya, acts like ya. Tara was just helping me out, she didn't even need to mess with the results."

"Unbelievable." He shook his head. "All three of you are fucked up. I hope you all rot in hell for this shit."

Gemma shook her head. "I had a bullet in my neck. I'm sure it's going to take _a lot_ to get rid of me Jackson."

"Not if I have anything to say about it Gemma." Blair placed herself between Jax and Gemma and looked at the woman. "I'd like to have this conversation from mother to mother but I'm the only mother in this equation. You hurt my daughter, that's not good with me, then you went and fucked with Jackson. That's not cool with me either, see I'm all about playing nice until someone goes and messes with my kids. I'm giving you a warning now. I will hurt you Gemma, only one of us is going to come out of this whole."

"You've been hanging out with Hap too long." Gemma scoffed and looked at the blonde. "You don't scare me Blair, so if I were you I'd watch my back."

"Alright, alright." Jax shook his head. "Relax Blair. Let's get out of here. Opie, I'll see you later brotha." He guided Blair towards the clubhouse doors and smiled. "Just gonna kick ass and take names huh?"

The blonde nodded. "Something like that. I just ask that you stay out of my way."

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"When can I see my mommy?" Abel looked up at his dad as soon as he walked into the house. "I wanna see her."

Jax nodded slowly. "We can see her soon. I'll call and make sure that she's good enough to visit. I don't wanna take you up there and she's sick. You'll get sick to and then when we go back home you might get your sister sick."

He nodded and smiled. "Call now!"

"You got it." Jax pulled out his phone, staring at his wallpaper for a moment before dialing the number he had gotten from the hospital during the DNA testing. "Yeah, I'm checking to see if I can see Wendy Case today… Yeah, alright. I'll be there soon." He ended the call and looked at Abel. "We're going to see your mom now, put your shoes on."

Abel smiled. "Yeah? Can I give her a teddy bear or something? It'll probably make her feel better to know I care and you care."

Jax nodded. "Yeah, we'll stop and get her a bear and a balloon from the gift shop… You ready to go?"

"Yup!" The little boy nodded. "I'm ready to see my mommy."

"Ok, ok. Let's get in the truck and head over." Jax shook his head as he watched Abel move towards the front door as his phone started to ring. "Hey babe."

" _Hey, I was calling to see how things were going."_

"Heading over to St. Thomas to let Abel see Wendy." He jangled his keys as he walked out of the front door and locked up behind him. "What're you doing? How are you feeling?"

" _That's good. I'm sitting in the car outside Janelle's dance academy. Too tired to go inside and deal with the moms."_

He chuckled and nodded, sliding into the driver's seat. "I don't blame you though babe, those moms are tiring and some are annoying… Give her a hug and kiss for me alright? I'll be back in the next day or so."

" _Yeah, I will. Hurry back home, she's starting to put up a fight about going to sleep when she needs to… I love you, drive safe."_

"I will. I love you too, I'll call before I go to sleep." Jax smiled. "Bye Noe." He ended the call and stuffed his phone into his jeans as he got closer to the hospital. "You ready to see your mommy?"

Abel smiled and nodded. "Yes! I'm ready to see her!" He looked out the window as St. Thomas drew nearer. "We need to get her a balloon and bear, alright dad?"

"Yeah buddy. A bear and balloon for her." He nodded as he pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and shook his head. It wasn't where he wanted to be, knowing that his temper was quick to start especially in this instance. "I'll let you talk to her most of the time, I'll say hi though." He got out of the truck and walked around it, grabbing Abel's hand.

"There's the gift shop!" Abel tugged his dad towards the small space. "She'll love that balloon and that bear."

Jax dropped his hand and smiled. "Well then grab them both kid." He crossed his arms as he leaned against the checkout desk and watched Abel grab a bear and a balloon. "Here." He passed the cashier a twenty before moving out of the shop behind his son and moved towards the elevator, moving onto it as Tara was getting off of it. "Come on Abel, we gotta get up there."

"Hey Jax." Tara offered the man a friendly smile. "Good to see you."

He rolled his eyes and snarled. "Whatever, Tara." He shook his head, feeling his blood begin to boil as the elevator doors finally closed. He grabbed Abel's hand as the doors opened back up and they walked off, heading towards Wendy's room, only to pause to watch a nurse move out of the room before they entered.

"Mommy!" Abel climbed up on Wendy's bed and smiled. "I got you a bear and balloon." He passed her the gifts before hugging her. "You feeling better?"

"A little better yeah." Wendy smiled at Abel before pulling him into a tight hug. "I missed you Abel. Thank you for bringing him up here."

Jax shrugged. "I did it or him, not for you."

She nodded. "You got so big Abel. How have you been? How's school?"

Abel smiled. "I've been good. School is so fun, I got a girlfriend. She's pretty and her name is Clover. I also play baseball, it's really fun, I'm learning how to pitch and everything."

"That's awesome Abe." She smiled. "How do you like your new house?"

"It's fun. I have my name on the wall." He grinned. "There's a big backyard too, it has a pool, swing set, sandbox and trampoline. Dad even jumps on it with me and Nelly."

"What's wrong with you anyways?" Jax interjected as he looked at his ex wife carefully. "I thought you were barely hanging on." He lifted Abel off the bed and set him on the floor. "Go sit outside bud, I gotta talk to your mom really fast. See when she's getting out of here."

Wendy nodded and smiled at her son. "I'll see you when we're done talking Abel." She watched him move out of the room before looking up at Jax. "Did you really have to cut the visit short. I haven't been with him in over two years!"

He shrugged. "Not my fault you signed the papers… So, what's wrong with you? You don't look like you're dying."

"Contracted something from using a dirty needle… It's slowly killing me and the doctors are trying to help but haven't done anything but slow it down." She shook her head. "You come to finish me off?"

Jax shook his head. "I knew you'd catch something because of your habit… Thought you were gonna stay clean. Get your shit together and do better with your life." He rubbed his hands up and down his face and groaned. "I'm not here to hurt you, wouldn't have brought Abel up here if I was. Just giving him what he wanted before the test results come in and we head back home."

"What're you going to do if he isn't yours?" Wendy cocked an eyebrow at the man. "Huh Jax? You still gonna take him and raise him like he's yours? Are you man enough for that shit?"

"Keep him from you and Gemma that's for damn sure… Who the fuck is the other guy? Do you even have a clue?" He eyed the blonde carefully. "I may have made some mistakes in the past, I may not have been the best husband to you but we weren't in love. I've grown up, I've changed and yeah, I'm man enough to be a dad to him even if he's not biologically mine."

"You gonna have Blair come in here and threaten me again?" Wendy smirked at him. "Oh, you didn't know that your mother-in-law came in here and threatened my life?"

Jax shrugged. "Good, someone needed to. Blair's being a good mom. She's doing _everything_ she needs to do to protect her child. Something you and Gemma know nothing about. You're both selfish and only do shit that benefits the both of you. You two only do shit that plays into your agendas. You both don't deserve to be called mom."

"Oh, yeah justify the actions of Blair. She tried to kill me Jax." She shook her head. "I was a mom to Abel before I came back to Charming. Coming back here was the worst mistake I could have made. I regret getting involved with Gemma, I should have left shit alone."

"But you didn't." He rolled his eyes before quieting as Abel came back into the room. "Talk to your mom for a little while. I'm going to sit in the waiting room and call Noe. Just come out there when you're ready."

 **SOA**

"Alright, I have the results in this envelope." Blair smiled at Jax as she walked into the house. "Are you ready for them?"

Jax nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready for them. It's early in the morning, how are you so awake and chipper?"

The blonde shrugged. "Because these are the results and you get to go home when we read what's in the envelope. I'm holding you to it, you said you'd go home when you got the results and here they are. I hope you're all packed up." She smiled.

"Yeah, yeah. We didn't pack but a bag each. We're ready to go." He nodded as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned. "Before you open it, I have to ask, did you threaten Wendy's life?"

Blair nodded. "I sure as hell did, even pumped her full of a blood thinner." She smiled. "What? I told you I was going to take care of them accordingly. No one hurts my kid's feelings and gets to slide past. Don't care about the consequences for me, as long as they aren't able to hurt her anymore I'm good." She used her key to slice open the envelope before pulling the letter out and reading it over and passing it to Jax.

Jax read over the paperwork before nodding his head slowly. "He's my kid… They fucked with DNA tests for what reason?"

"To ensure that he really was." The blonde shrugged as she patted her son-in-law on the back. "Now get home to your pregnant wife and daughter. I'm going to stick around here a little while longer, take care of some things. I mean it Jax, go home to Noelle and Janelle."

"I'm going to, I'll probably let Abel say bye to his mom first." He nodded and smiled down at the piece of paper, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. He could go back home to his wife and daughter and sleep easy.

"Be smart about it Jackson. He may not want to leave, what'll you do then?" Blair shook her head. "I'll see you in a few days when I visit Noelle and bring her some things for the nursery. Have a good day." She hugged him and smiled. "All is good in the world again."

He nodded and smirked, folding the paper up and shoving it into his pocket as he watched the blonde leave the house before he moved to the sofa and dropped back onto it and crossed his legs as he settled in. One last day in Charming then he was heading home to his family and he couldn't be happier about it.

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 **let me know if you liked it. :)  
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	24. Home

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 **I'm not sure what I did but when I deleted the PSA, it renumbered the last few chapters and voided the update link in the emails. So, if you haven't read the chapter before this one, go give it a glance. Also, sorry for the super delayed update, I lost my muse while dealing with a tough family situation but I am trying to get back on track. So enjoy this cute and fluffy chapter.**

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Blair smirked as she leaned against her pristine white Audi Q7, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched Tara being escorted out of her home by multiple officers. She knew it was petty, to stoop to a low level but she was out to make sure that the three women who threw her daughter's life into a tailspin were punished. She had scared Wendy, threatened Gemma, now watching Tara be arrested for misconduct was lovely. "What a lovely day in Charming." She smirked, making eye contact with Tara. "Perfect day to lose your title as a doctor isn't Tara?"

Tara looked at the woman and shook her head. "I should've known it was you who was behind this Blair…"

"I warned you. You don't mess with my daughter and get away with it." The blonde shook her head. "I think jail may toughen you up a bit. It'll be good for you."

"Fuck you." The brunette spat at the blonde. "I did all this to help a friend and Jax out. Abel is one of the best things to happen to Jax. You and everyone else knows that Blair. What we did helped him man up."

Blair shrugged. "Could have just let everything happen… Didn't need to meddle at all. You see, you tried to do a good deed and it backfired horribly." She shook her head before slipping on her sunglasses. "I'll see you in court… Might want to see if any lawyers will defend you against me." She smiled before turning her back to Tara. "All in a day's work."

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"We're gonna miss you Jackie Boy!" Chibs pulled Jax into a hug and rocked them side to side. "You're gonna have to come back for another visit. Bring the lovely brunettes in your life." He smiled. "Ya hear me?"

Jax nodded. "Yeah, I hear you brotha." He flashed him a grin. "It'll probably be after Noe has the new baby but nonetheless we'll be back up here for a visit."

"We're holding ya to that, otherwise you're gonna have the whole charter beating down your door to see the new baby. Dunno if Noe would appreciate that." Chibs laughed as he lifted Abel off the floor. "You're gonna be missed too. You gonna visit your Uncle Chibs again, right?"

Abel laughed and nodded. "Yes! I'm gonna visit you again Chibs!" He patted the man's face and smiled. "I'll bring my mitt next time and we can play catch."

"Another goodbye." Opie ruffled Abel's hair and smiled. "I'm gonna send Kenny down for a visit soon, he'll play catch and hang out with you kid."

The blonde haired boy nodded and smiled. "I love hanging out with Kenny!"

"He won't give Kenny back if you send him." Jax smirked at his best friend and shrugged. "I wish we could stay a little longer but I got the loves of my life at home waiting for me and Abel."

"We're going to be in DINO." Tig clapped a hand on Jax's shoulder. "Some fundraiser, we'll be down your way in two weeks. Bring the family to the event, have some fun, enjoy the brotherhood a little bit."

Jax nodded. "Yeah, man, we'll definitely be there." He smiled as he looked around the room, feeling his phone starting to vibrate in his pocket. "That must be the wife calling to see if we've left yet." He pulled the phone free from his pocket. "Hey babe."

" _Jax, are you guys on the way yet?"_

"We're about to head out in five minutes, finishing the goodbyes at the clubhouse babe. What's wrong? You sound funny?" He furrowed his brow and rubbed his forehead. "Is it the baby? Janelle? You?"

" _I'm fine, I'm tired and miss my husband, can you hurry up?"_

"Yeah but tell me what's wrong. I can hear it in your voice babe." He shook his head. "Come on Abel, we gotta go now."

" _I'm on bedrest… I'll fill you in when you get home. I'm gonna take a nap. I love you, drive safe, alright?"_

"Yeah, yeah." Jax nodded, taking the phone from his ear as he heard the call end. "Yeah, come on kid. I gotta get back to Noe, something is wrong with her." He looked around at his friends and nodded. "Sorry to cut things short."

"No worries, go see what's wrong with her." Happy smiled at the younger man. "Call us if anything. Alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." He nodded and smiled "I will. I'll see you guys in two weeks."

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"Daddy!" Janelle rushed towards her father and jumped into his arms and smiled at him. "I missed you daddy! Where'd you go huh?"

Jax kissed his daughter and smiled brightly at her as he brushed her unruly curls from out of her face. "I went to take Abel to see him mommy. She was sick."

"Oh!" She formed an 'O' shape with her lips and nodded as she patted her father's hair. "Is she all better?"

He nodded his head, unsure of what to tell the little girl. "Yeah, she's getting better. Where's your mommy? I need hugs from her too!" He moved further into the house, smiling widely as he spot Noelle relaxed in his recliner. "Couldn't even be bothered to welcome your own husband home? Rude!" He laughed as he walked to her, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"You see me? I got bigger since you left." Noelle smiled. "I missed you too… I'm so happy that you're home babe. How was it Abel? Did you get to see your mom?"

He nodded and reached out, rubbing her belly softly. "I see that. What's with the whole bed rest thing babe?"

"Mommy fell down the stairs yesterday." Janelle looked at her dad before looking at her mom. "The ambulance came and everything."

Jax looked between the brunettes before sitting him daughter down on the sofa. "Abel, take Nelly to the playroom. I gotta talk to Noe alone. It's grown up time." He watched as the pair of children left the room before turning his attention and focus solely on his wife. "You fell down the stairs and didn't bother to tell me?"

"It was like the last four steps and I landed on my back." Noelle sighed and shook her head. "I wanted to make sure everything was still good, so I called for help. I'm fine, the doctor just told me I was dehydrated and to rest until the next check up which is next week, when we find out what we're having."

He nodded as he pulled the brunette to her feet before he dropped down into the recliner and pulled her back down. "I'm glad you're okay, now I know for sure that I'm _never_ leaving you home alone again. You're a klutz babe." He kissed her as he rubbed her belly. "You're getting huge, that's a boy in there."

"Tell me about it." She nodded. "I'd be shocked if it were anything besides a boy in there. I'm already in the mindset of little jerseys and sports items. That's what I'm all about."

Jax smirked. "What? No little kuttes in the mix?"

The brunette shrugged. "Nope. I mean, I can't stop you from exposing him to your family but I'd love it if he didn't become a Son."

He nodded. "We got out of the life for a reason. To give our kids a better life, let them know that there's more out there than just being an outlaw for a living." He pushed on her stomach, smiling when the baby kicked back. "I guess he doesn't like me pushing on his space."

"He's territorial. I know he's gonna be a mama's boy." Noelle smiled as she buried her face into Jax's neck, feeling comforted and relaxed for the first time in a little while. Her husband was back, she could get out of her head about him not coming back to her. "I'm so glad you're back babe."

 **SOA**

"Can you even see your feet?" Jax tugged on Noelle's hair as he watched her slip into a pair of sneakers. "Your belly looks like it's in the way."

"You're dumb, you should shut up." She laughed and shook her head. "I can still see my toes, I'm not a huge monster just yet babe."

He nodded and smiled. "It's good to be home. I'm happy to be in bed with my wife again, even if I can hardly cuddle her because of that big ass belly."

"I'm happy you're home. It wasn't but a week you guys were gone but it felt like forever." She wrapped her arms around his neck and chuckled when her belly kept her from hugging him tightly. "I missed you so much. I was so spoiled with always having you in bed beside me. A few times I made Janelle cuddle up with me. It was fun."

Jax pressed on her belly and smirked. "I can't wait to figure out a name for the kid. I'm still thinking that Jax is a good name for him. Little Jax."

"JJ." Noelle smirked. "Jackson Jr. I'm good with it. I really am. I was talking to my mom the other night, she was on one of her rampages. I guess she filed a lawsuit on our behalf for Tara fucking with results. Then I got a text this morning from her, saying that Tara was arrested yesterday morning and is facing some heavy ass charges."

"Yeah, your mom is on a warpath." He shook his head as he laced his fingers through hers and lead her out of the bedroom and towards the stairs. "You think you can manage taking the stairs? The kids are downstairs, waiting to go to lunch."

The brunette nodded. "That's fine. I think we need to realize that I should at no time be allowed to carry the baby down the stairs." She laughed as they walked into the living room and saw their kids sitting quietly on the sofa. "Alright, spill it who did what?"

"What're you talking about?" Abel smiled up at the brunette. "We're just sitting here, being good, huh Monster?"

Janelle noddd and smiled. "Yeah, we're just sitting here being good."

"Lies." Noelle shook her head. "Got five seconds to spill it or you're going to be in huge trouble. 5...4...3...2-."

"I spilled juice on the sofa!" Janelle frowned and shook her head before moving off the sofa and pointing to the spot. "It was on accident! I'm sorry mama!"

"It's alright baby, it was an accident. Next time you tell me or your dad. Don't hide it alright?" The brunette nodded and smiled. "We can clean the sofa, when we get back home from lunch. Now let's get out of here."

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"Noelle… That little boy is talking to my daughter." Jax kept his eyes trained on his daughter who was laughing and talking to a little boy in the ballpit. "I don't like him… He's not good enough for her, she's too young."

Noelle laughed and rolled her eyes. "She's three, they're in a ball pit babe. They're not getting married and they're not doing anything bad. They're playing Jax." She rubbed his back and shook her head. "Not saying anything about Abel chatting up that little group of girls though, such a double standard."

"She's my princess." He sighed. "That little fucker better not make her cry or anything. I'm not speaking on Abel, double standard or not. I'm proud of him."

"Such a man." The brunette rubbed her belly as she watched her daughter playing. "You need to go grab her right now… That little boy is looking like he's about to hit her or something. I don't play that."

Jax moved into the ballpit, just as the little boy smacked Janelle, feeling his anger explode and waded through the pit, grabbing his daughter as she rubbed her face and cried. "You're good Nelly, I got you darlin'." He held her to his chest and looked at the little boy. You're so lucky there are witnesses, if there weren't I'd smack the shit out of you." He shook his head and carried his daughter out of the pit and towards Noelle. "This was a fun lunch choice why?"

"It was a fun choice until that little shithead." Noelle rubbed her daughter's face and sighed at the red mark. "I wanna punch him babe. I wanna go in there and send him flying across the room. I swear to God-" She cut herself off as a woman approached her and Jax.

"I'm so sorry! My son, he's the one who hit her." The woman shook her head. "You know how it is though, boys will be boys."

Jax looked up from Janelle and shook his head. "Are you fucking serious lady? Your kid hit my daughter and you're going to say, 'boys will be boys'? Why don't you teach the fucker not to hit girls. I think that's the better lesson to instill in him." He narrowed his blue eyes at her, his mouth tight at the corners as he waited on baited breath for her to make another stupid comment. "What's next? You're gonna feed us some bullshit that he likes her and that's why he hurt her? I'm not taking that shit either."

The lady gaped at the man and shook her head again. "I'm not gonna make any excuse for him. It was wrong, he'll apologize." She backed away from the couple, looking between them carefully before turning around and retreating.

"She's not coming back." Noelle shook her head and smiled. "Look at you, being dad of the year. Letting moms know that you're not accepting their bullshit excuses. They gotta break that kid young or he's gonna think it's all good to hit girls."

"Don't give a fuck if she comes back." Jax cradled Janelle in his arms and smirked down at her. "Darlin' next time a little boy hits you, you hit him right back. Got it? Don't let any boy lay his hands on you like that. If he's ever too big to hit back, you tell me or your brother and we'll handle it, alright?"

Janelle nodded. "I got it daddy! My face hurts, can we go home?"

He nodded and smiled. "Yeah, we can go home. Let your brother play a little bit longer. You and me can go turn in your tickets and see what kind of prize you earned."

"I wanna get the teddy bear." She smiled and pointed towards the large white teddy bear that was hanging behind the prize counter. "Look at it daddy. I want that bear, he's such a cutie."

Jax placed the tickets on the table and watched the freckled red head behind the counter send them through the counter. "If she's short, how much cash do I gotta pay to get that bear for her? She's not gonna wanna leave without it."

"Um, I'll take ten for it. Been trying to get rid of it for a little while." The girl smiled and passed the large bear to Jax. "Have fun with it."

Janelle looked at the bear and grabbed for it. "Come on daddy! Let me hold the cutie! Please!"

He nodded, setting her down to her feet and passing her the bear before flashing a lopsided grin to the girl. "Thanks for that." He passed her a twenty and turned away. "Let's go see if your brother is ready to leave."

"I'm naming him Bob." Janelle hugged the bear and smiled. "He's such a cutie. I'm never leaving him ever daddy."

Jax smirked, lifting his daughter and the giant bear up. "Bob, huh? He's gonna get dirty if you take him to the park though, or you put him in the sandbox at the house. You gonna put him in a tutu and take him to dance class?"

"We'll wash him." The tiny brunette nodded and giggled. "Mommy, look at Bob! He's such a cutie, huh?"

Noelle smiled and nodded as she held Abel's hand. "Hi Bob, I'm Noe." She shook the bear's hand and laughed. "We're ready to go, Abel says he's ready for a nap."

"I'm sleepy! I made friends, Noe said they can come over some time." Abel yawned and looked up at his dad. "Carry me?"

Jax nodded as he set Janelle down and picked up Abel. "Let's get home guys. Today has been fun but I think the five of us need to pile into bed and take a nap until it's time for dinner." He wrapped an arm around Noelle's shoulder and kissed her temple. "It's good to be back home."


	25. Jeremiah

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 **enjoy another update. I promise I'm getting better at this again. also thanks to those who gave me well wishes. thank you for that.  
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Jax pressed on Noelle's stomach, smiling as the baby kicked at his hands. It was finally time to find out the sex and they were both set on it being a little boy she was carrying and not another princess. "He's aggravated with me babe."

Noelle smirked. "Because you're pressing on his already cramped space… He's going to give you hell for it later when he's here." She looked from him to Janelle who was currently upside down in the chair across from them, her shorts in full display as her dress covered her face. "Janelle, you need to sit correctly. No one needs to see your shorts baby."

"Leave her alone." He shook his head. "It's what she has short on for. So she can be a monkey in a dress." He smiled as Janelle flipped off the chair and sat on the floor a moment before flashing him a smiled and walking towards him. "Hey darlin'."

"Daddy! Did you see me? I flipped!" She giggled as she crawled onto his lap and faced him, her tiny hands on his face. "The baby has to see the doctor? For what?"

Jax smiled and nodded. "I saw you flip. The baby has to see the doctor so we can see what it is. A boy or a girl. What do you want? A sister or a brother?"

"A brother!" Janelle smiled and nodded. "So I can boss him around like Abel does to me!"

"Everyone is onboard with a boy, so watch we get a daughter." Noelle stood up at the sound of her last name being called. "Come on babes, it's time to find out what we're adding to the family. I'm so excited." She grabbed Jax's hand and allowed him to walk her towards the nurse.

"Hi Noelle!" The nurse smiled. "I know you have to be excited for today."

She nodded and smiled. "Yes! You have no idea Chrissy. I'm so excited to find out what I'm having. We want a boy, even little Janelle wants a brother." She moved into the exam room and onto the bench and relaxed back against it.

"Just sit tight, I'll be back in a few minutes to get it going for you." Chrissy smiled before leaving the room.

"She's nice." Jax smiled as he watched Noelle roll her shirt over her belly. "I'm excited for this. I wanna know what the baby is." He picked up Janelle and buried his face in her curly hair. "I was so excited when I found out you were gonna be a girl. I wanted a princess first. I smiled for a week straight, my cheeks were hurting."

"It's true." Noelle nodded and smiled. "He was excited. I thought he was going to explode from the excitement. He even helped pick your name out."

"Hey, hey." Chrissy moved back into the exam room. "I got the go ahead from Dr. Moore to go ahead and gender the baby. She'll be in here when she finishes up with her current patient." She washed her hands before pulling on a pair of gloves. "The gel is going to be warm, not the cold stuff you're used to." She squirted a generous amount on Noelle's belly and smiled.

"Ew!" Janelle reached out and touched the gel. "Mommy, that's so gross!"

Noelle laughed and nodded. "I know baby! It has to be there though, so she can see the baby easier…" She looked at the screen, grinning as the sound of the baby's heartbeat filled the small room. "Oh, wow. I'm bursting at the seams right now."

"Let's see, this is the face, you can see the nose and lips right there." Chrissy smiled. "Nose looks like dad's nose, lips like mom's. Look at the teeny hands and feet. Baby is in the perfect position. It looks like you're having a little boy." She nodded as the door opened up and the doctor came in. "Dr. Moore, baby looks like a healthy baby boy."

Dr. Moore smiled. "Let me just wash my hands and glove up then I'll confirm. Hi Noe, Nelly, Jax." She grinned at the family as she moved towards the sink and washed her hands before pulling on a pair of gloves before taking over for Chrissy. "Let's see here, oh yeah, little guy is definitely showing off the goods right now." She laughed and shook her head. "See, right there. It's a boy for sure."

"Yes!" Janelle clapped her hands. "That's my brother! I'm gonna boss him around!"

"Is that so?" Dr. Moore smiled. "I boss around my baby brother too."

"Yeah!" The tiny brunette nodded her head and smiled. "I'm naming him too. His name is gonna be Jeremiah."

"That's a good name babe." Noelle smiled at her daughter as she watched Jax rub the gel off of her belly. "Right Jax?"

Jax nodded. "It is. We'll consider it darlin'." He smiled at his daughter and picked her up. "I was going to name him Candy Cane but Jeremiah is better!"

"You're so silly daddy." Janelle giggled. "I love you. Gimme kisses." She made a kissy face.

He kissed her and smiled. "So demanding." He shook his head and kissed her forehead. "When's the next appointment?"

"The next appointment will be in a month." Chrissy smiled. "It's just a routine checkup, for mommy and baby."

"Awesome." Jax nodded and smiled. "You hear that Nelly, we can see your brother again."

Noelle sat up and nodded. "Thank you guys so much. I'm excited. We'll see you in a month."

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"Babe! Look how cute this is." Noelle held up a onesie and smiled. "We gotta get it for the baby! Yeah?"

Jax grabbed the onesie and tossed it into the cart and smiled. "I'm all for it. I think we're going insane, we've been in here for over an hour. Look at her, she's passed the fuck out." He pointed to Janelle who was fast asleep in the bottom of the cart.

"I know but I can't help it. I'm so excited and we're supposed to be killing time until Abel gets finished with practice." She rested her head against Jax's arm and smiled. "You know I am even happier that we picked neutral colors for the nursery. It could have been a disaster if we hadn't."

"It's good." He hugged her and placed a kiss to her neck. "I love you Noe."

"I love you too Jax. I'm thrilled to be having your son." She pushed his hair behind his ears and smiled as she ran her fingers through it and put it in a bun. "Mmm, I love your hair in a bun babe. It's sexy in the wierdest way."

He rolled his eyes as he gave her ass a playful smack. "I want to cut it all off again. I think it'll be good for me. A good change up. So, cherish it while you can because in a few days it's going to be all gone again. Not a buzz cut though, just short."

"I'm fine with it." Noelle smiled. "I'm gonna miss playing with your luxurious golden tresses but I get it, you wanna look distinguished and handsome as hell." She slipped her hands under his shirt and smirked as she poked his nipples. "Hey, don't act shy about it right now."

"That lady is staring at us and you're over here trying to play with my nipples babe." Jax shook his head and pulled his wife's hands from his shirt. "Leave my nipples alone for now. They're not cold, they don't need attention. Yours on the other hand, you gotta get a better bra Noe." He poked at her breasts and smirked. "You're just a walking thermometer."

She laughed and shook her head. "Shut up. I hate you right now babe." She covered her chest with her arms. "I thought I was wearing a good bra! I swear. Give me your flannel babe."

He laughed and passed it to her and shook his head as he tried his best to regain his composure. "I swear, you're a mess when you're pregnant but at least you're my mess baby." He kissed her as she adjusted it so it was covering her breasts. "You look cute and pregnant right now babe!"

"Do I? Lumberjack chic is all the rage?" She struck a pose and laughed as they earned stares from the other patrons. "Take a picture it'll last longer…" She mumbled before being pulled into a hug by Jax who couldn't contain himself as he rested a hand on the cart, making sure it didn't go anywhere.

"You're going to get us kicked out of here." Jax shook his head, looking down into the cart to make sure Janelle was still asleep. "Man, my stomach hurts from laughing so hard."

"Babe, I'm gonna pee my pants from laughing." Noelle shook her head, taking deep breaths in an effort to calm herself down. "I gotta go to the bathroom, right now."

He laughed, pushing the cart behind her towards the bathroom. "I would laugh at your ass for the next ten years if you pissed your pants right now babe."

She turned her head and glared at him. "It's your son's fault. He's chilling on my bladder. I can't even help it." She laughed as she moved faster towards the bathroom. "I gotta pee so damn bad." She shook her head and walked into the bathroom, leaving Jax and Janelle outside.

Jax picked his daughter of the cart and cradled her against him, slowly rubbing her back and small circles as he avoided the weird gazes other customers were giving him. "I guess they've never seen a dad with his daughter before." He mumbled to himself as he shook his head, looking towards the bathroom as he watched his wife walk out. "You make it before you had an accident?"

"Yeah." She smiled at him. "I'm a big girl, I avoided peeing my pants in a store." She laughed and shook her head. "She was waking up?"

"No. I just wanted to hold my princess." He shrugged as he watched her grab the cart. "Everyone was looking at me weird too. I feel like they think I kidnapped her or something." Jax rolled his eyes and chuckled. "She'd be the last kid that I kidnapped."

"Be nice. You'd kidnap her then return her when you realize that she's a handful." Noelle smiled. "Let's go, he should be finishing up practice by the time we get there."

 **SOA**

"We gotta talk." Jax squeezed his wife's knee as he sat down on the lounge chair next to her. "It's about Abel."

"What about him?" She looked at him briefly before turning her attention back on Janelle who was in the sandbox. "What's happening with him now?"

He shrugged. "Just wanted to touch basis. He's been talking to him mom a lot since we got back. He wants to see her more. So I wanted to talk to you about that whole aspect and see where your head's on that. You two haven't really been spending time together the way you did when he thought of you as his mom."

"It's not like I haven't been trying to spend time with him. He's just not having it." The brunette shrugged her shoulders as she rubbed her belly and continued to stare at her daughter. "There's nothing I can do to make him want me around him like he used to. I don't know what I did but I'd change shit if I could."

"I know you've been trying and all that. I love you for it." Jax turned in his seat and did the same to the brunette. "Look at me Noelle… I know it's hurting you that he's sort of treating you like a stepmom now and less like you gave birth to him. I can see it in your eyes."

"I really don't wanna talk about this while I'm hormonal and pregnant. I don't need a reminder of it either. I'm not his mom, I can never replace her but it was nice that he loved me like that you know?" She shrugged once more and wiped at her eyes. "What did you wanna tell me though? You gonna try to take him up there once a month or something to let him see his mom?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking something like that. Maybe not me, see if we can't send him with some type of friend of the family. I hate Wendy so damn much but I can't really deny him the chance of seeing his mom. Especially now that he's asking for her all the time."

Noelle nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. I don't know, see if you can talk to my mom about this. She could probably suggest something helpful. She's worked with family courts before." She trailed her fingers through her hair, her mind elsewhere as she continued to process what her husband was telling her.

Jax grabbed her hands and sighed. "Babe, please talk to me. This isn't the time to clam up and keep stuff inside. Just let me know what's going on in that pretty head of yours."

"What?" She sighed. "It's fine. Like I want him to have a relationship with his mom. I'm no one to stand between that Jax. I just don't wanna talk about it because I don't feel like crying alright? I just want to focus on Janelle and the unborn child. I know I sound like a bitch right now but you can make decisions for Abel. I trust your judgement. He doesn't want me around, so I'm not dealing with the bullshit."

He nodded, pulling her onto his lap as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry Noe… I didn't know it was messing with you this much." He kissed her before wiping away the stray tears that were falling. "I didn't mean to upset you babe."

"I'm gonna be fine." She nodded, flashing her best smile. "I just love him like he's my own but now he hardly acknowledges me. The last time we held hands was when we went to lunch and the kids were playing and having fun. It was in the moment and it hasn't happened again. It just fucking sucks and hurts so bad. I'm never going to stop loving him or treating him like he's mine. Just for the record."

Jax kissed her and smiled as he rubbed her belly. "I love you for continuing to treat him like he's your own. It's an amazing thing to witness. I think he'll come around though, maybe work it out. He's just gotta deal with everything on his own. He's a kid, he's just being as logical as he can be at that age."

"That's my kid, even if he wants nothing to do with me right now. I'll still be here for him." Noelle sighed. "My hormones are killing me right now… I have pregnancy brain. I love you too Jax." She kissed his neck and smiled, trying her best not to become too super sensitive to the conversation. It was one she knew they'd have again in the future, so right now, she was going to let Jax handle Abel and the whole Wendy situation. She had her daughter and unborn child to focus on right now.


	26. Teller Clan

Noelle shook her head as she moved through the quiet house, it was early in the morning and for the life of her she couldn't get comfortable or stay asleep. Her son was just too active, kicking and punching, preventing her from find the perfect position to drift back off into a much needed slumber. "Kid, you're already driving me up the wall…" She whispered as she walked into the kitchen, noting the light coming from the garage. "Jax… Why are you awake?"

"Why are you awake?" He rasped at her, a smile on his lips as he eyed her belly. "The kid giving you hell?"

"Pretty much, he doesn't want me getting any sleep at a normal time." She sat down on the metal stool and shrugged. "I'll sleep at naptime with Nelly, she's sleep inducing."

"You want me to tell the kid to relax and let you sleep?" He moved towards her, his large hands on her belly as he smiled down at her, feeling his son kick. "He's cramped in there, he's not going to be tiny like his sister, he's going to be a huge thing."

"I'm not looking forward to that babe." She shook her head and yawned. "I don't know, I'm just so uncomfortable that I need to see about those special pregnancy pillows or something. Or, you can be my pillow and I can try to get comfortable while cuddling up to you."

Jax nodded as he pulled his wife into a hug. "I can do that, I can be your pillow for the night."

"Yeah?" She wrapped her arms around him and yawned once more. "I can use a nice cuddle session with you. After you strip out of these clothes though, you're so not making our bed smell like motor oil and cigarettes…"

"It was two cigarettes… I haven't picked it back up fully." He buried his face in her neck and sighed. "Just been stressed over the Abel situation."

"Understandable." She nodded as she let him pull her towards the door. "The situation is all types of stressful."

He nodded as he moved through the house, his wife's hand in his larger one as he slowly walked up the stairs. "Let's talk about this after we get a couple of hours of sleep. I don't want to think about anything now besides making you comfortable once we're in bed."

She smiled as she laid in bed, doing her best to get comfortable as she watched Jax strip down to his white boxers and crawl into bed next to her. "Thanks for this baby…" She kissed his neck as she tangled her limbs around him, getting into the most comfortable position her belly would allow her to get into. "This is so much better already."

"Good, I'm glad." He kissed her temple and slowly rubbed her arm. "Get some sleep, I love you Noe."

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"Daaddy!" Janelle attached herself to her dad's legs and looked up at him. "Whatcha doing? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh!?"

Jax looked down and grabbed his daughter, holding her to him as he felt her wrap her arms around his neck and giggle. "I am making you and your brother some food to eat. We gotta stay quiet, inside voices. Your mom is still sleeping, she's gonna be sleep for a little bit longer. Alright?"

She nodded and pulled back to look her dad in the face. "Alright. Can you put more peanut butter on that for me daddy? I like more peanut butter than jelly!"

"Anything for you." He smiled as made the sandwich to her liking. "The princess gets her special sandwich. More peanut butter less jelly, it's perfect. Perfect just like you."

She giggled and patted her dad's cheeks. "I want some snuggles with you daddy. I need some cuddles and snuggles, can you braid my hair like you did that one time? I know you'll do better this time."

Jackson laughed and nodded. "Yes Nelly, I will snuggle and cuddle you after I braid all this hair you have. You look so much like your mom, it's crazy."

Janelle nodded. "I love you daddy." She kissed him and grinned. "I want some milk with my sandwich, please?"

"What? No juice?" He tugged on her hair and smiled. "Over the juice?"

"Nuh uh. Mommy says milk goes with sandwiches." She pulled on his goatee and laughed. "Daddy, are you gonna take Abel to see his mommy again? Are you gonna leave me?"

He shook his head. "Not gonna leave any time soon darlin'. It's gonna be us bonding, you wanna learn how to fix a truck? Fix a Harley?"

"Harley!" She shouted and nodded. "I want a truck when I'm older. A big truck daddy just like yours."

"Oh yeah? You gonna drive carefully if I buy you a truck?" He sat the tiny brunette on the counter and passed her a sandwich. "Eat that all of that baby."

Janelle nodded as she took a bite and smiled. "Hi Abel! Daddy made sandwiches!" She waved hers around. "He made you one, come sit with me!"

Abel nodded as he smiled at his sister. "Big boys sit at tables Monster not on the counter." He sat at the kitchen table and shrugged.

"Oh." She rolled her eyes. "I'm a little girl though!" She stuck her tongue out at him and flashed an infamous lopsided smirk. "Daddy is gonna buy me a big truck like his when I'm old enough to drive!"

"Inside voices babe." Jax shook his head as he kissed his daughter's head and smiled. "You guys both need to eat and we'll go from there. See if we can't sneak out and go to the park for a little bit."

"She's too loud." Abel covered his ears and shook his head. "Make her stop."

"Hey, don't be mean." Noelle's voice filtered into the kitchen. "She's loud because she's three and excited. You were loud like her when you were her age." She smiled at the little boy. "Your dad always told you to use your inside voice."

"Someone is awake and grumpy" Jax smirked at his wife. "They're both loud. It's a family trait. Tellers are loud."

"My dad was loud." The brunette shrugged. "Well, you know… Christopher was loud."

He looked at her and nodded slowly, it had been the first time in a long time that he had heard her even bring up her dad. "Yeah, he was loud." He slid a plate towards her. "I made PB&J, I heard it's one of your favorite snacks to eat since you're pregnant."

"Yeah, the baby loves PB&J, more peanut butter than jelly." She picked up the sandwich and took a bite of it. "This is perfect… Where's the milk though?"

He laughed, watching Noelle and Janelle eat their sandwiches, they looked and acted so much alike that he couldn't help but fall even more in love with the two brunettes. "Here's your milk. You two are basically the same person."

Janelle nodded. "That's my mommy that's why. I do everything like she does it." She sipped her milk and rubbed her mom's belly. "Huh mommy?"

"For sure my dear." Noelle nodded and smiled. "We should all go to the park. I think I can muster up enough energy for that. Plus, I need fresh air and a change of scenery for a few hours. I also like looking at all the little babies."

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"Noe is sitting in the sandbox playing with kids dad." Abel pointed to the pregnant brunette as she laughed and built castles with Janelle and a few other kids. "She's silly."

Jax chuckled and shrugged. "She is silly but that's why I love her. She always knows how to make everyone around her smile, even when they're super sad. Look, the kids love her and they're all having fun. Why don't you go join in?"

"I don't wanna play in the sand, I wanna play on the monkey bars, like when I was little." He shook his head. "But she can't because she's having a baby."

The man nodded and rubbed his face. "Pretty soon she'll be able to play on the monkey bars with you again. She just has to have the baby boy and then she'll be swinging like a monkey again in no time."

"She's having a boy?" Abel scrunched his face up. "I want to be the only son."

"Yeah. You're going to have a little brother." Jax smiled proudly. "I'm gonna have two amazing sons to carry on the Teller last name."

"I am gonna have a little brother to teach stuff to?" Abel shook his head and smiled. "I guess that's cool. He's gonna be less difficult than Monster right? Is he gonna have the same colored eyes? Hers are still creepy."

Jax laughed and shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he'll have a blue eye and a green eye and be more difficult than Janelle." He patted his son's back and smiled. "Or he can have two blue eyes and be the best listener ever. We won't know until he gets here."

"Babe!" Noelle shouted. "Abel! Come help us build the kingdom! We need the King and the Prince!"

"Shall we help the Queen and the Princess?" Jax stood up and grabbed his son. "Let's see if we can't help them out buddy. It's our job as men to help the women we love." He walked towards the sandbox and sat down and pulled Abel onto his lap. "Look at this mess you've got here. We came at the right time Abel."

Abel nodded. "I think we can fix this mess. It'll be good huh dad?"

"Oh, did you hear that Nelly? The boys think we've made a mess of the kingdom." Noelle shook her head and smiled. "Help us build it back up though. Our peasants have deserted us." She pointed towards the group of kids that were now scaling the rockwall.

"Shame on the peasants." Janelle shook her head. "I'm sending them all to the dungeons with all my pet dragons."

"Oh, I have my very own Khaleesi?" The brunette smiled. "I wasn't aware that the Mother of Dragons was my daughter. Where's all your blonde hair my dear?"

"Daddy and Abel stole all the blonde hair." The three year old giggled and covered her mouth. "Will the new baby have dark hair like me and you?"

"We have to wait and see." Jax pulled his daughter closer to him. "We didn't steal all the blonde hair. You just didn't wanna look like us? You wanted to look like your gorgeous mommy."

"I got one of your eyes though." She nodded and smiled as she hugged Abel's neck. "Abel, Abel, Abel, what're you doing brother? You wanna go on the monkey bars? I can hang on them too!"

Abel nodded. "Yes. I wanna go on the monkey bars." He stood up and grabbed her hand and smiled. "Come on daddy, let's go to the bars."

"In sixteen years, that statement is gonna mean something entirely different." Jax kissed Noelle's forehead. "Looks like the kingdom has to wait for that rebuild. I'm going to help my little monkeys swing on the bars. I'll be back."

 **SOA**

"I want to name him Nolan Ryan." Jax rubbed Noelle's belly as he rested his head on her chest and smiled. "Nolan was in the original pool when you were pregnant the first time."

Noelle nodded and smiled. "I love that name. Nolan Teller. We have to be stopped with all of these rhyming names though. Noelle Teller, Janelle Teller, Nolan Teller, then we have little Abel Teller. He's the only original name in the family."

He laughed and nodded. "I like the rhyming thing as corny as it seems. It bonds us together. The Teller clan, stronger together than we are apart." He poked at her belly and sighed. "I can't wait until you're here kid. I'm dying to see what you look like."

"He's gonna be the perfect mix of the two of us this time. I promise my genes won't take over entirely this time." She rubbed her belly and smirked. "Although I would love for the eyes to be blue and brown again. It would make for another standout trait for the Teller clan. Not just the gorgeous smile and smirk you three have going."

"Nolan, your mom is crazy. I don't know anything about a smirk or smile." He shrugged. "We're gonna confuse him. Noe and Nolan. What's his nickname?"

"Can't give him one yet." She shook her head. "We have to see him first. He could be a Pookie or a Fatty."

He scoffed. "No way in hell am I naming him Pookie or Fatty. Little Teller, Baby Teller, or just Nolan." He moved up the large bed and pulled the brunette into his arms. "I love you Noelle and I hope that we don't have anymore babies."

Noelle nodded. "I love you too. No more babies is right. You're so getting fixed. I'll make you the appointment."

"Um, you're joking right babe?" Jax looked down at his wife. "I don't have to get fixed for real right?" He shook his head. "I'll make you an appointment."

She shrugged. "I will find you the best doctor in the state to perform the delicate procedure babe. Don't worry, the family jewels will be in good hands." She pattes his chest and smirked. "Nolan is our last baby."

"I'm not sure that I wanna be fixed." He shook his head frantically. "Babe, babe… Please tell me that this is a joke. Noelle, Noe." Jax looked at her and sighed. "Fine, fine. Last baby and we'll revisit this being fixed thing."


	27. Gone

"I can't believe you talked me into coming to the block party." Jax shook his head as he rubbed Noelle's belly. "This is a mess."

Noelle chuckled and shook her head as she looked around the space, smiling and waving to their neighbors as she continued to relax into her husband's touch. "It's fun babe. A block party isn't too terrible. It should remind you of the parties you guys had at the clubhouse or that carnival thing you took me to that one time, Fun Town."

"Fun Town is not a block party." He shook his head as he laced his fingers through Noelle's before looking down at Janelle and Abel who were sitting on the grass eating popsicles. "The kids are enjoying themselves."

"Their dad should be enjoying himself too." She kissed his cheek and smiled. "We're hands down the best looking family here."

"Conceited." He chuckled as he sat down in an empty chair and pulled the brunette onto his lap. "At least the neighbors are all friendly and not over here sticking their noses in our business. We also dodged the bullet with those Andersons over there. I swear, they're trying to get us to swing with them or something."

"I wanna swing with them!" Janelle nodded. "I love swinging."

"Not this kind of swinging baby." Noelle shook her head. "This kind of swinging involves you being tied to a tree branch by your hair."

Jax shook his head as he tapped Noelle's head. "Don't tell her that shit…"

"Ooo! Daddy said a bad word!" Janelle looked at her dad and wagged her tiny finger at him. "Shame, shame daddy."

"Hey Noelle!" Hayley smiled at the pregnant brunette. "Look at you, glowing. How are you guys doing? Glad you could join us for the annual block party."

Noelle smiled at the blonde and nodded. "Look at you. You're glowing yourself. We're doing good. Enjoying ourselves and the food and games."

"Thank you. We're having a little girl. Her name is Harlow." She smiled. "What about you? You having a little boy?"

"Yes, we named him Nolan." Noelle grinned as she rubbed her stomach. "Who knows, maybe the two of them will be friends and grow up together."

"Hey guys." Johnny smiled at the family as he sidled up to his wife. "Hey Jax, I was wondering if you had any time in the upcoming week. I need someone to look at my Harley and I couldn't help but see that gorgeous Dyna you have parked in your driveway."

Jax nodded as he looked back at his driveway and smiled. "Yeah, sure. Bring it over tomorrow if you can and I'll help you out with it."

"Right on." Johnny grinned. "Hear that babe? My Harley is gonna be on her way to being back on the road."

Hayley rolled her eyes and smiled. "Like he needs to be on that thing right now. Been trying to get him to trade it in for a more reasonable family car."

Noelle shook her head. "Never try to take a man's bike… It's the number one rule. He can keep it, just make him ride it only on weekends or when he doesn't have the kids. That's why Jax has his truck, so when he takes the kids out he's in it and when he wants to do stuff alone, he takes his bikes. No man wants a reasonable family car. They still want something bad ass. Can you see Johnny driving a minivan or Jax driving my SUV? If anything, let him pick the car that'll fit him and the kid in."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Hayley nodded and flashed a brief grin. "Let's go Johnny. Gotta finish making our rounds."

Jax smirked as he watched the couple walk off. "Look at that, you scared the neighbors away with your advice darlin'."

"No! Only I'm darlin'!" Janelle whined as she looked at her father. "Say it daddy! I'm the only darlin'!"

"You're the only darlin'." He smiled at his daughter. "My little darlin'."

She smiled brightly and nodded her head. "You hear that mama? I'm the _only_ darlin'."

"I hear it." Noelle smiled. "I'm not gonna take your title from you baby girl. You're always gonna be his little darlin', even when you're older and married."

"I'm not marrying a boy! They have cooties!" Janelle stuck her tongue out. "Boys are so yucky mommy!"

"Yeah boys your age are so yucky!" Noelle stuck her tongue out and laughed. "Marry a girl instead!"

The little brunette looked at her mom and nodded. "I can marry a girl!?"

"Marry whoever you fall in love with as long as they treat you like the princess you are." Jax poked at his daughter's cheeks. "Abel, you're quiet. You doing okay there?"

"Yes." Abel nodded as he turned to look at his dad, his face red from the popsicle he was currently eating. "I'm people watching and enjoying this."

"Good man." Jax smiled at his son. "You want me to get you another one of those when you're finished?"

"No. I want some popcorn next." The little boy nodded. "Maybe a corndog too."

"Look at you. You have a good appetite." Noelle smiled at the blonde haired boy. "We can get both of them for you right now. The guy is right there." She pointed to the vendor selling popcorn and corndogs. "You wanna come with me so we can get them for you?"

Abel shook his head. "No thank you. I want my dad to go with me."

Jax looked between his wife and son before nodding. "We'll be back… Don't move." He watched Noelle stand up before rising to his full height himself. "Come on Abel let's go."

"I think I'm gonna head inside the house. Take Janelle with you guys." Noelle shrugged as she started backing up. "Bring them home when you've tired them out."

 **.**

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Jax sighed as he dropped onto the sofa next to Noelle and kissed her cheek. "You missed out on some fun babe. Won some stuffed animals for the kids. Saw Johnny get dunked in the dunk tank. Nelly, she was a little social butterfly, just talking to all the kids. Abel had fun too, he made some new friends."

"She go down easily?" Noelle looked at her husband and smiled. "I told you, she's a charmer just like you are."

"Yeah, soon as her shoes and dress were off she was out." He nodded as he laced his fingers through hers and rubbed her knuckles in small circles. "I'm sure that Abel will change his attitude eventually."

"Don't care anymore." She shrugged. "I'm gonna stop trying and I'll focus on Nelly and Nolan… That's all there is to it. Love the kid to death but I'm laying off and if he wants to be friends or whatever in the future, then I guess I'll be open to it but for now, I'm taking a step back."

"Alright, I'll drop it." He pulled her onto his lap and smiled. "We're gonna fix all of this shit."

"Jax shush and just rub on my belly." Noelle shook her head. "Let it go and it'll all work out eventually. Alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." Jax nodded as he rubbed the brunette's belly. "Anything for the Queen."

 **SOA**

"I'm so over this pregnancy. It has me overly sensitive. I feel like I'm gonna cry any minute of the day. My feet are killing me, I still get nauseous, I just am overall miserable and I still have a few months left." Noelle sighed as she looked at Jax as he finished off his glass of orange juice. "Babe, we're not having any more kids for real. We don't have to get fixed or anything but we do need to be protected."

Jax laughed and shook his head as he eyed his wife as she stood with her hands on her hips, her belly on full display. "We'll be protected this time if it means no snipping." He stood and placed his glass in the sink before moving behind the brunette and resting his large hands on her stomach. "He's a Teller, he's not gonna make shit easy on you. I mean hello, you've met me." He kissed her neck and smirked.

"I know he's a Teller. Hey, Nolan, I need you to ease up on meanness." She pressed on the side of her stomach, feeling her son kick in response. "He's gonna be a little hellion. I know this for sure. When he's sixteen… God. What were you like at sixteen, please tell me you didn't have a police record or any of that shit."

"I'm not gonna lie to you right now but I had a record when I was sixteen." He shrugged. "Got in a lot of trouble." He smirked as he turned his attention to his phone that was lighting up on the kitchen table. "Looks like charming is calling. Let's see what they want today." He moved around the brunette and grabbed his phone. "Hello."

"Who is it?" Noelle wrapped her arms the best she could around her husband as she tried to listen in on the phone call. Her curiosity getting the best of her as she watched Jax's face fall and his brows furrow into his signature worried face. "Babe?" She pulled his face down to look at her as he ended the call. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"It was Opie." Jax rubbed his hands up and down his face, trying to figure out how to process the news that he was just told. "They found Gemma, dead in her bedroom this morning… Natural causes apparently, saying heart attack but they don't know for sure."

"What?" The brunette shook her head as she looked up at her husband. "Seriously? Really? Damn… I know this sounds bad but I thought she was going to outlive us all."

He nodded as he buried his face into Noelle's neck, not sure of why the news of his mother's passing was affecting him so much. He had been trying his hardest to distance himself from her. Hell, he packed up and moved towns to get away from her and all the bullshit but it didn't make the pain hurt any less. "I gotta go back… For her funeral at least. I don't know Noelle, I don't know what else to do."

"It's alright." Noelle nodded as she rubbed the back of Jax's neck and sighed. "Go back and bury your mom. I'm gonna call my mom and let her know the news… You know how much she loved Gemma."

Jax chuckled lightly and shook his head as he pulled away from the brunette and kissed her lips. "Yeah. Call her and let her know that. I know what I gotta do now though. Shit, I gotta tell Abel about his grandma."

"Take him with you when you go." She shrugged. "Kill two birds with one stone. He'll get to say goodbye to Gemma and see his mom. That's what he wants anyway. To see her."

"Yeah, I'll talk to him about it. I know he'll be excited to see his mom. I don't know how he'll handle the news of Gemma though." He shook his head and sighed as he wiped at his face once more. "I'm just in shock. She's gone… She went out in the way I least expected her to. I thought she was gonna go out bloody."

Noelle nodded. "Well… I mean, it wasn't the most tragic way to die but at least she was peaceful right? She probably felt no pain, just slipped away in her sleep." She shook her head as she rubbed her belly in slow circles as she felt Nolan begin to kick. "I think your son is just trying to make me pee my pants. I'll be back. I'll bring you a drink."

He nodded as he sat down and spun his phone on the table as he watched his wife move out of the kitchen while his daughter skipped in. "Hey darlin'."

"Daddy." Janelle climbed onto his lap and smiled as she patted his cheeks and kissed his chin. "What're you doing? Are you gonna play pretty, pretty princess with me later?"

"I don't know. I just got some news about my mom." Jax ran his fingers through her curly mane and sighed. "I think I have to go away for a few days with your brother."

"No." She shook her head. "You can't go… I wanna go with you."

He kissed her nose and shrugged. "I'll see if we can make it a family trip. You, me, Abel and your mom can all go up to Charming. You can see the old house, see your uncles and see Blair and Happy."

"Grandpa!?" She nodded and smiled. "I talked to Grandpa Happy the other day. I called him on mom's phone and he was like _'hey kid'_."

Jax laughed as he shook his head. "Sounds like him… Yeah, I'll talk to your mom and see if she's up for the trip. Alright?" He kissed her cheek and tickled her. "It'll be a fun time darlin'."

"I want to go so I can see Grandpa and show him the pictures I colored. He likes art a lot." Janelle played with her dad's hair and smiled. "Daddy, where'd your long hair go huh? It's not like mine anymore." She furrowed her brow and studied him carefully. "Where did you put it all?"

He smirked. "I cut it off and now it's growing back. It'll be long again soon. Not as long as yours through. Your hair is touching your butt! How'd it get so long?"

"Mommy won't let me cut it. I love it though. I love it so much." She shook her head, her curls whipping around her face as she giggled. "Don't be sad daddy okay? You're too cute to be so sad looking." She patted his cheeks before climbing off his lap. "I'm gonna draw you a picture. You can hang it up in the garage!"

Jax smiled as he watched the tiny brunette dance about the kitchen as she laughed and clapped her hands. Her carefree spirit cheering him up slightly. "You gonna draw me a picture of you? I need one of you to hang up in the garage, so I can see your gorgeous face while I work on my bikes and truck."

Janelle nodded as she stopped mid-spin to look at the man. "I can draw a picture of me. I found my brown market." She clapped her hands as she climbed back onto his lap and yawned. "Nap first though daddy. I made myself sleepy."

He nodded as he held her tightly to him, his hand rubbing her back as she rested his head on her shoulder. "I'm gonna be right here when you wake up darlin', then we can get to the artwork and pretty pretty princess." He kissed her head as he stood up from the chair and moved to the living room, quickly sitting down in his recliner and lifting the foot rest as he pulled the blanket over him and Janelle. "Love you." He sighed as he closed his eyes, feeling a bit at peace knowing that his daughter knew what to do and what to say to make him relaxed and less sad. His mom was gone but with a family like his, he was going to get through it, with time.


	28. Pull

"I can't say I've missed Charming." Noelle shook her head as they passed through main street. "I can't say I've missed it at all. Although, I can say I did miss the diner. That's about it." She furrowed her brow as she felt Jax's hand squeeze her thigh roughly.

"Relax." Jax shook his head. "You're not supposed to be stressing out." He glanced at the brunette, admiring her profile before turning his attention back on the road. "You've been stressing since we pulled out of our driveway, _six_ hours ago."

"I'm relaxed." She nodded as she looked back in the back seat and sighed. "She's still asleep. Should I be worried that she slept the entire six hours babe?"

"No." He rolled his eyes and smirked. "We left at six in the morning, she didn't even go to sleep until we put her in the truck. She'll be good. It's noon, she'll sleep well tonight. If not, I'll stay up with her until she falls asleep."

"I'm holding you to that." She smiled as she watched the clubhouse come into view. "Oh, the memories of this fucking clubhouse… Good times, great outfits. Pretty sure they were both conceived in this damn place."

Jax laughed as he pulled onto the lot and parked the truck. "You're a mess. I can't deal with you right now." He turned off the truck and climbed out, moving to the passenger's side as he helped his wife down and laced his fingers with hers as he opened the door for Abel, watching him stretch before bouncing towards the front doors. "He didn't even wait for us." He led Noelle around the opposite side and quickly eased Janelle from her seat, making sure she was securely against him. "Sleeping like a damn log."

"That's my girl." Noelle chuckled as she moved towards the clubhouse and sighed. "I'm not sure that I can do this Jax."

"It's alright babe." He pulled open the door and let her walk in ahead of him. "It's all friendly faces in here now. Besides Tara but Chibs has her on lock, I guess. She won't mess with you at all." He kissed her temple as he moved towards the back hallway and to his old apartment. "Let's put her down, or do you think she'll wake up and freak out because she doesn't know where she is."

"Leave the door open slightly and the lights on. I'll check on her in a hour or so and get her up and going." She nodded as she watched him lay their daughter down on the bed. "Memories man… So many good ones in here."

He nodded as he pulled the brunette out of the room. "Hell yeah. We can always make some more babe." He winked at her and smirked. "What? Not down for it?"

"You know that I'm always down to make memories with you baby." She smirked back at him. "Pregnant and all."

"Still going at it in the hallways I see." Opie shook his head as he happened upon the couple. "It's ridiculous if you ask me."

"Hey Opie." Noelle smiled at the large man. "Good to see you… Given the circumstances."

Opie smiled. "We all thought you'd be jumping for joy…"

"I had my fair share of problems with Gemma but I'm here to support Jax and all." She shook her head. "I'm also not in the right condition for jumping." She gestured to her stomach and smiled. "This little boy would be highly upset if I jumped around and disturbed his peace."

"Oh shit, you're letting another little Jax loose on the world?" Opie shook his head. "I don't think we're ready for that at all."

"Too late, he's almost finished cooking." Jax smiled proudly as he rested his hand on Noelle's belly. "We decided to name him Nolan."

"Nolan Ryan Teller." Noelle nodded and grinned. "I gotta use the restroom… I'll be back. You two continue catching up."

Jax watched his wife move towards the bathroom before leading Opie towards the open space of the clubhouse. "You wanna tell me everything you know about my mom? Was it just all natural?"

"As far as the medical examiner goes, they're saying it's all natural. Her heart gave out while she was sleeping. It was peaceful." Opie nodded and shrugged. "I'm sorry about Gemma though Jax. I know shit was bad but she's still your mom and everything."

"Yeah I know. It's why I got up here as soon as I could." He sighed. "Broke the news to Abel but he is still excited because he gets to see Wendy. Which is why I'm on edge. I'm trying to keep her and Noe apart."

"Wendy is in bad shape still, don't know what the fuck she did to buy some more time but her clock is ticking." Opie furrowed his brow. "It'll be bad when she goes… I'm gonna feel bad for your kid man."

"Yeah, I'm gonna feel bad for him too." Jax nodded. "They're just getting picked off one by one. The moms with the fucked up mindset but with good intentions… Thank God Noelle's head is screwed on right and tight. She's all about her kids but she does what she has to in the most logical and lawful way… I hope Abel comes around and bonds with her again before she just shuts him out and turns into a step monster." He shook his head as he watched Noelle walk into the room, only to be stopped by Happy. "Here's to hoping it all works out for the best."

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"I can't believe that I'm even here right now." Noelle shook her head as she looked around the packed clubhouse and at the various members in different stages of drunken stupor. "Someone dies and a party happens." She chuckled as she looked at Kozik. "Where's my sister?"

"She's back home. Couldn't make the trip with school and work." Kozik shrugged as he poked a Noelle's belly. "You look like you're having twins, not just a single baby."

"The baby is a boy." She shrugged as she knocked his hand away. "He hates being disturbed. It's his relaxation time right now. Every day for the last few weeks at this time, he just chills out and doesn't move or do much in there."

He poked at her again and smirked when he got a kick from the baby in return. "I guess I woke him up and now he wants to play with his uncle Koz."

She rolled her eyes as she bit back a smile. "Of course you woke him up and now I'm gonna be running off to the bathroom every few minutes to tinkle because you couldn't leave well enough alone."

"I'll carry you to the bathroom. You're still tiny compared to me. You weigh like what? A buck forty soaking wet?" He shrugged as he pressed on her stomach and smiled. "Can't wait to meet this kid. See who he looks like because your genes kicked Jax's last time around. Where is she anyway? My little princess?"

"She's asleep, like she should be at one in the morning." Noelle shook her head. "Are you catching baby fever right now Kozik? Huh? That's cute."

"Nooo." Kozik shook his head as he moved off his stool. "Not catching anything but a fresh beer. I'll be around Noe. Don't hate this shit too hard, try to enjoy yourself. I hear a glass of wine isn't too bad for the baby."

"I am not drinking wine." She tapped her nails on the wooden bartop and sighed as she watched Kozik walk off before she turned her attention on Jax who was laughing with Opie and Juice. "I don't know what I did do to deserve this but this is a cruel fate…" She mumbled to herself before she moved off her stool and rubbed her lower back as she tore her gaze away from the men and moved back to the hallway.

"Cutting out early on the party already?" Happy blocked Noelle's path and smiled down at her. "I can't even get a hug? A hey dad? A hey Hap? Just a plain hey from you?"

"I'm sorry. My head is just somewhere else." Noelle hugged Happy and sighed. "I'm calling it a night and going to cuddle with the munchkin." She trailed her fingers through her hair as she pulled away from the man. "Not up for conversation or sitting through a party when I can't even focus on shit for longer than a few moments."

He nodded as he rubbed her cheeks. "It'll all turn out alright. Stop worrying about shit… He's stronger than what you're giving him credit for." He smirked at her as he tapped her forehead. "You're easy to read Noelle. Learned that the moment I met you."

"Shut up." She smiled and shook her head. "I'm gonna get a better poker face for the next time we cross paths, _dad_." She poked at his chest. "I'm going to sleep. I need to get some rest before tomorrow."

Happy nodded as he pulled the brunette into a quick hug before letting her go. "You know I'm here if you decide you want to talk. Even if it's early in the morning or late at night. I'm a good listener. Now, go get some sleep, I have a blonde to hunt down." He pulled away from her and moved through the hallway and straight to the blonde. "Hey… Can I talk to you? It's not a question, more of a request."

 **SOA**

Noelle held Janelle on her lap as they watched Abel and Wendy on the swing set in the corner of the Teller-Morrow lot. Their eyes constantly scanning the pair as they both sat in silence, watching the way Abel enjoyed himself. "He looks happy huh Nell?"

"Yes he does." Janelle nodded. "So, that's his mommy? She looks mean in the face."

"Hush." The brunette shook her head. "Don't talk about his mommy… It's not nice. What if someone talked about yours?"

Janelle shrugged. "I'd beat them up!"

"Beat who up!?" Jax grabbed his daughter and spun her around, a smiling spreading across his face as he listened to her giggles. "Who did what to you!?"

"If someone talked about my mommy, I'd beat them up!" She shouted. "No one is mean to my mommy!"

"Oh!" He nodded as he settled her on his hip. "You gotta learn how to fight first." He walked her to the boxing ring and set her on the apron. "Get inside, I'm gonna teach you how to throw a few punches so you can defend your mom's honor." He rolled into the ring after her and stood up slowly. "You ready darlin'?"

She nodded as she balled her hands into tiny fists and started punching the air. "Yeah! I'm ready! I'm gonna beat you up daddy!" She charged at him, only to be lifted off her feet and into the air. "Put me down! You can't pick me up in a fight silly!"

Jax shrugged as he set her down. "Why not?!" He poked at her head and smirked. "Huh? Huh? Huh? Why can't I pick your cute ass up and toss you straight to the moon?"

Janelle gasped and covered her mouth. "You said a naughty word daddy! You said a naughty, naughty word!" She shook her head and smiled. "Ass! Ass! Ass! Ass! I said it too! I said it too daddy!"

He covered her mouth and looked back to make sure his wife wasn't paying attention. "You're gonna get me into some trouble." He shook his head as he chuckled. "Don't say naughty words until you're an adult. It's not cute."

"But you laughed!" She nodded. "Ass! Ass! Damn! Fuck! Shit! Fucker!"

Jax shook his head as he swatted his daughter's behind. "Knock it off or you'll get another one. You hear me Janelle?" He looked at her and shook his head as he watched the first stream of tears begin. "Nope, dry them up. No tears. You got in trouble, you got your punishment, now you know not to say any of those words again right?"

Janelle nodded as she rubbed at her eyes with her tiny fists. "No saying naughty words. I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

He picked her up and kissed her face. "You're good babe. Just don't say them again, alright?"

"Alright." She smiled. "Come on, I gotta finish beating you up daddy! You were mean! You spanked me!"

"Because you were bad." He shook his head as he turned her upside down and held her above the mat by her ankles. "I think I'll just keep you like this for the rest of the day. I got all the time in the world."

"Mommy! Mommy! Look! I'm upside down!" She giggled. "Look, I'm a bat!"

Noelle turned her attention to the ring and shook her head before moving towards it. "What's going on in here? Why's my kid a bat?"

Jax shrugged. "She was cussing so I swatted her ass, now we're hugging it out." He righted his daughter laughed. "Told her no naughty words until she's an adult."

"Oh." The brunette nodded. "Don't hurt my kid or I'll have to get in there and hurt you Jax. I don't wanna have to do that. Embarrass you in front of everyone."

"Yeah, yeah." He shook his head. "Go sit your gorgeous ass down while I teach my kid how to throw a mean left hook. Or right hook. I'm still not sure if she's a lefty or a righty. She keeps switching it up on me."

"I'm gonna sit right here." Noelle rolled her eyes as she sat on the picnic table, smiling as she watched Abel run past her. "Someone lit him on fire or something." She shook her head as she watched a shadow appear at her feet. "Wendy."

"Noelle." Wendy looked at the brunette and flashed a smug smile. "I hear that you're no longer _mommy_ to Abel anymore. He was telling me that he calls you Noe now because I'm his one and only mommy."

The brunette nodded her head slowly as she continued to look at Wendy. "Yeah, well. It couldn't last forever. I'm glad that you two are working it out." She shrugged as she examined her nails. "What else do you want from me? Huh? You want me to throw a party for you?"

"Nope. I was just coming over to rub it in your face. My son is _mine_ again." Wendy smirked. "You don't got any pull over him anymore. Neither does Gemma. I plan to beat what I have and get custody of my son. I don't want you in his life anymore."

Noelle stood up and shrugged. "Wendy, do whatever the fuck you gotta do. I really don't care anymore. You should be telling this shit to Jax, not to me. I have my daughter and my unborn _son_ to think about. If Abel doesn't see me as his mom anymore, then so be it. Do what you need to do to be a mother to your son. You don't have to be in my face, trying to be smug about shit because it's about damn time you step up. Got nothing against it but if you come at me again, in a disrespectful manner when I've done nothing but take care of _your_ son for the last few years, I will hurt you. Pregnant or not, I can still kick your ass or put a bullet between your eyes." She shook her head and stepped back before walking away, leaving the blonde standing alone, looking idiotic.


	29. Old Habits

Jax grumbled as he rolled over and came face to face with his three year old daughter. A smile on her face as she blinked at him. "Hey darlin'."

"Hi daddy." Janelle kissed the bridge of the man's nose and giggled. "Mama went for breakfast with Grandpa Happy."

He nodded as he pushed his daughter's hair from her face and smiled back at her. "What time i it? How long have you been laying here kid?"

"I dunno how to read your watch daddy but I've been laying her since I had breakfast with Uncle Juice." She nodded. "He's a goof."

"He is a goof." He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes as he grabbed his phone off the nightstand and looked at it. "Okay, so it's a bit much to deal with this late in the day. It's almost two in the afternoon and your mom has been gone since breakfast? When did you get in here huh? Where's your brother at?"

"I dunno." She shrugged her slender shoulders. "Abel is with his mommy." She climbed onto her dad's lap and held his face in her tiny hands. "It's just me and you daddy. Princess and daddy time! Princess and daddy time! Come on, get dress silly daddy. We only got a little time left until I have to go mimiz."

"What do you wanna do?" He stood up from the bed and set the tiny brunette onto her feet before he moved to his duffle and rummaged through it for a white shirt and pair of jeans. "You wanna go to the park? Go get a milkshake? What do you wanna do darlin'?"

"Um! I wanna go to the park and go on the monkey bars!" She clapped her hands as she spun around the small open space of the room. "Monkey bars! Monkey bars! Monkey bars! Maybe 'nilla milkshake too!"

"A 'nilla milkshake huh?" He chuckled as he picked her back up. "I guess we better get on it. We got a big day ahead of us. Park and shakes." He moved out of the room and through the dark hallway, stopping when he entered the barroom. "Hey, go play with Uncle Juice for a second, I gotta talk to your Uncle Opie." He set her down and watched her run off towards Juice before he started after Opie. "Ope…"

"Yeah man?" Opie turned and looked at his best friend. "Glad to see you're alive."

"Yeah." Jax nodded. "I wanna know what is going on… What's all this shit for?"

"The women wanna have some type of celebration of life party for Gemma." Opie looked around and shrugged. "It's not mandatory to attend because she's already in the ground at the cemetery but still, they wanted to have it. Wendy is spearheading it and oddly enough Tara has jumped on board with the plan."

"Okay." He ran a hand down his face and sighed. "Okay, okay. Well, I'm going to take my daughter to the park and out for shakes. I'll be back later. Alright?"

"Daddy!" Janelle ran up to the pair of men and wrapped herself around her dad's legs and pouted up at him. "I fell down, I got an ouchie on my knee!" She pointed to her left leg before lifting up her arms. "I need a hug please."

"Up you go." Jax picked her up and kissed her cheek. "How'd you fall? I let you out of my sight for a few minutes."

She shook her head. "I was skipping and I fell down." She buried her face in his neck and sighed as she patted his cheek. "My ouchie hurts."

"Let's get you cleaned up and skip the park and go straight to the diner for the shakes." He shrugged as he moved towards the pool table and set her down. "Juice grab me the first aid kit… You still have one of those right?"

"Yeah, man. I'll be right back." Juice nodded as he started to walk away from the pair.

"Alright Nelly, when he gets back. I'm gonna have to clean your knee and it's gonna hurt a little but then it'll be all better." Jax looked at his daughter's knee and shook his head. "It's not too bad babe."

"It hurts! I'm gonna die!" Janelle wiped at her face and shook her head. "I'm gonna die!"

"Lord, you've gotten your aunt Melody's dramatics." He shook his head as he accepted the first aid kit from Juice. "Okay, it's gonna sting a little but then you'll be alright. Janelle, look at me, you're gonna be fine, it'll just sting."

"No, no!" She shook her head as she covered her face and started crying. "That hurts! I'm dead!"

Jax rolled his eyes as he quickly finished cleaning and dressing his daughter's knee. "There you go babe. All fixed up and pretty again." He lifted her up and hugged her as he pushed the kit back towards Juice. "Thank you… I'll be back later."

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"How was your day?" Jax looked at his wife as she pulled on a large black shirt. "You have a good time with Happy?"

Noelle turned and smiled. "Yeah, it was nice to have breakfast with him. Then I went to Oakland. Trip down memory lane." She shrugged as she moved towards the bed and laid down. "How was your day with the kids?"

He shrugged. "I only had Janelle. Abel spent the day with Wendy, he got back here just a little before you did. He was knocked out."

"You let her take him off? Unsupervised?" She shook her head, trying to remind herself she had no place to voice her concern over the little boy. "Just forget it. I'm not his mom or anything. How was your time with our daughter. I know she had to be somewhat of a handful."

"It was a good day." He nodded as he studied her facial expressions carefully. "It's not just gonna go away, you know. Your love and concern for Abel."

"I know." She shook her head again as she twisted her ring on her finger and sighed. "I just don't want anything to happen to him. She's not dependable, responsible… His mother or not, I don't trust her with him. It just sucks because I can't do shit because I'm just the stepmom he wants nothing to do with anymore."

"He's a kid. He has no idea what's going on half the time. He's not trying to purposefully hurt your feelings babe. He's just a little boy that wants to be around his mom all the time… It'll get better I promise. Plus, you're getting your own little mama's boy very soon." He rubbed her stomach and smiled. "It's not always gonna be bad."

"I know it's not always gonna be bad." Noelle sighed again as she rested her hands on Jax's. "I just miss hanging out with him and being more involved in his life… I don't wanna be the evil stepmom or anything like that. I love him like he's mine. Let me shut up, these hormones are making me more emotional than I normally am." She trailed her fingers through her wavy tresses and closed her eyes as she felt Nolan begin to kick. "Well, he's wide awake and being a little kicker in there."

"I feel him." Jax smirked up at the brunette. "That's my little ass kicker in there. Can't wait to meet him."

"Good." She nodded. "Because I can't wait to meet him either. I just wanna cuddle him and love on him and see if my genes won out over yours again… One blue eye Teller? For real? Just one lonely blue eye."

"He's bound to look like me. I mean look at Abel." He shrugged as he continued to press on her belly. "He's gonna be all Teller."

"Yeah right…" She scoffed. "You had Abel with a white girl with blonde hair… Hello, I'm a cute little half asian chick. I think our genes are gonna duel so hard. He may have blue eyes but his hair will be dark like our daughter's."

"We shall see." Jax nodded. "If he doesn't look like me a little bit, we're gonna have to try for one more kid." He chuckled at the look on his wife's face before shrugging. "Not quitting until your genes bow down and let mine take over at least once."

Noelle rolled her eyes. "Nope. This kid is it. You better pray to God that he has some of your genes. Especially your golden tresses." She smirked down at him. "Because I'm never doing this again."

 **SOA**

Noelle shook her head as she watched Jax laugh with the guys as they stood at the row of shiny black bikes. Long gone was her husband's plain white shirt, in its place was his old navy _SAMCRO_ shirt. A shirt that Noelle had thought she had seen the last of when Jax had announced his resignation from Redwood president and Son all together. "It's like Gemma is working her magic from hell." She mumbled as she turned to look at her mom. "Are you even paying attention to me right now?"

Blair shook her head. "Not really. I'm mostly looking for baby clothes and items for my grandson Nolan." She held up her tablet and smiled. "Look at this onesie, it's absolutely adorable Noe. I have to get it for him."

"Okay." She nodded. "I'm not even going to argue with you right now mom." She rolled her eyes as she tried to get her mind to focus on anything else but what was right in front of her. "I think he's gonna try to rejoin the Sons."

"I don't think it works like that Noelle. Stop worrying." The blonde patted her daughter's head and smiled. "He'd have to probably start from the bottom and work his way through a prospect year again and why would he do that when he's waiting on his third child?"

"Men are stupid." Noelle huffed as she turned her attention to Janelle who was talking animatedly with Juice. "Figures that Janelle would have her first crush on Juice."

"It's cute right?" Blair chuckled as she looked up and at Janelle and Juice. "She picked the least harmless member to attach herself to."

The brunette nodded. "Yeah, the _least_ harmless." She shook her head. "I don't think you actually know Juice if you don't know that he's a fucking ticking time bomb. He's got this little neurotic side to him. How do you not know that?"

"You're the one letting their three year old hang out with a biker." Blair shook her head. "I only concern myself with Happy and Juice."

"Whatever." Noelle patted her mom's head. "I'm gonna swipe my daughter from Juice and see if I can't pull Jax away from his leather clad homies so we can do some family bonding. I can't just sit around the clubhouse. I'm not programmed to do this shit."

Blair nodded. "It's not as bad as you're making it seem. You can earn a lot of respect around here Noelle."

"I don't plan on sticking around long enough to earn respect around here. I want to go _home_." She shook her head as she moved towards Juice and Janelle. "Come on baby, we're going to grab some lunch at the diner."

Janelle shook her head. "I don't wanna go without my Juice."

"Juice can come with us if he wants to." Noelle smiled. "You want to have lunch with us Juice?"

Juice nodded as he looked at the brunettes. "I'd love to have lunch." He stood up slowly, picking up Janelle in the process. "Jax won't care?"

"No." She shook her head. "We're gonna leave him to catch up with the guys. Let's go to Natalie's cafe or something."

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Janelle smiled as she sipped her milkshake and looked at her mom and Juice. "Look Juice, I got a 'nilla shake. It tastes really yummy." She nodded.

"My caramel milkshake is better though." Noelle stuck her tongue out at her daughter and smirked. "You wanna try a sip baby girl?"

"Nope." She shook her head. "Yours is so yucky. I just wanna drink mine." She nodded as she took another sip before pulling the plate of fries towards her. "I like fries too. They're so yummy, huh Juice?"

Juice nodded as he ate a few fries. "They're super yummy. I love dipping the fries in my shake." He smiled before poking at Janelle's forehead. "You're adorable."

"Thank you." The three year old nodded and smiled. "Mommy, he said I'm adorable, did you hear him?"

"Yes, I heard it." Noelle smiled and nodded. "He's right, you're absolutely adorable baby girl. I can't get enough of that pretty face of yours."

Juice smiled at Noelle. "So… Can I ask you a serious question right now Noelle?"

"Yeah, go for it." She nodded as she finished off her milkshake and moved on to her burger. "What do you wanna know?"

He nodded as he took a sip of his water before clearing his throat. "I was wondering what will happen if ya know, Jax falls back into old habits. They die the hardest you know that."

Noelle dropped her burger back on her plate and shrugged. "Who the heck even knows what I'll do? I can't speculate and I can't assume he's going to want the biker life back just because he's comfortable right now. All I can do is sit back and hope for the best." She shook her head as she took a sip of her water. "Yeah… We're hoping for the best."


	30. Crybaby Goodbyes

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 _ **I'm going to do this story the way I just finished up with my other story Follow Me Down, just because of the lack of feedback on the last few chapters, I will be cutting this story short, to about maybe 35, possibly 40 chapters. So enjoy the next few updates of this story. It's been a fun adventure while it lasted. Now it's time for me to move on to a new adventure.  
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It was official. Noelle Teller hated Charming more than she had when she left to move to Orange County. It was too small, people were too close, too nosey, too stuck in the fifties. She shook her head as she tried to get comfortable in the heat of the desert sun. _No luck_. She thought to herself as she rubbed her belly and moved back towards the house. Her old house, the one she had shared with Jax when her dad had made her homeless a few years back. "Jax…" She spoke as she walked into the house and dropped onto the leather sofa and kicked her feet up on the coffee table.

"Noe." Jax smiled at his wife as he walked into the living room, carrying two bottles of ice cold water. "You look absolutely miserable."

"I feel absolutely miserable." She groaned as she accepted the water from him. "I need you to tell me that we're going back home soon Jax. I want to go home, sleep in my bed, work on Nolan's room some more. We've already been here for a week now."

He nodded as he sat down next to her, a large hand going straight to her belly as he looked at her. "We can go back in two days. I just need to make sure the agent knows I'm firm on the asking price for Gemma's place."

She nodded. "Alright but I'm holding you to that. _Two days_. Then we leave, if you don't want to leave then, you don't have to but I will be taking Janelle with me when I leave Jax." She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm serious about it too."

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Jax sat on the rooftop of the clubhouse, beer in hand as he watched the sun begin to set. His mind becoming cluttered with all the memories he had made in Charming, up until the point of the first time he had brought Noelle around the club. That was when things really took a turn for him, for what he actually wanted in life. He no longer wanted the club, the trouble that came with it. He wanted a wife, a family, a different future. No that he had it, he was settling into a routine of contentment. One that he had no qualms with. He was happy, healthy, his family was safe and his shoulders no longer carried the weight of the club. He was a free man and he couldn't even believe that at one point he considered giving up his freedom to have a reaper on his back once again.

"Jax." The voice brought him out of his thoughts and he looked back to see his very pregnant wife standing there, a vision in her flowy white dress as she held out another beer for him. "Thought you might need another one."

"I can't believe you climbed your pregnant ass up here." He stood up and walked to her, taking the beer before he took her hand and led her towards the air conditioning unit, sitting atop of it before pulling her between his legs and resting a hand on her belly. "I'm going to be honest with you right now Noe… I was thinking about putting a reaper on my back again."

She nodded slowly. "I know Jax. I'm not stupid. I saw the pull between your new life and your old one…"

He let out a sigh as he nodded. "I want my new life, our new life. I don't want the reaper. It was just a thought of when being a Son was good. Back when I was a first year." He shook his head and chuckled. "This is what I want now, the life we're creating. But a few things really need to change. I need to quit my fucking job and open up my own shop. I hate not being the boss."

Noelle shook her head and smiled. "I was waiting for the day you announced that. That you want to quit that job because you're actually working with some damn idiots." She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm excited to get home and watch you quit that job. You now we have enough saved to find you a shop, for you to be your own boss and hire who you want and whoever you don't want."

"I was crawling up the walls with all their conversations about how streetbikes are better than Harleys." He shuddered and shook his head. "I'm happy with this new cookie cutter lifestyle we have going on. We just have one thing to worry about and that's Abel and the situation with Wendy."

"I hate Wendy." The brunette rolled her eyes. "She keeps trying to flex her nonexistent muscles and not own up to the fact that I've raised her son the past few years while she was in and out of sober living facilities."

Jax couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips. "Flexing her nonexistent muscles is she? How about you let me deal with her and you worry about being relaxed and getting Nelly packed up to go back home tomorrow. I'll just have to break the news to Abel, I'm not letting him stay up here without one of us being here."

"Yeah, the bitch was like 'you're not his mom, I am'." Noelle scoffed. "Well, shit. I wasn't aware that he had an actual mom." She shrugged. "He'll be upset about that but what can you really do? She's sick. You've seen her, she's pretty much skin and bones."

He hugged her and smiled. "Keep the feistiness, it's attractive." He rubbed her belly. "Nolan is probably hating you right now for climbing up here and disturbing his peace."

"He'll get over it when I'm laying in bed and he is just kicking away and waiting for his dad to talk to him." She smiled as Jax moved them towards the ladder. "What're you doing?"

"I'm gonna go down first and you can climb down after. We're gonna get the princess and go to the house and be lazy. We'll leave in the morning." He started down the ladder and looked up, watching as his wife started lowering herself down. "Just take it nice and slow baby."

She nodded as she started down the ladder, keeping her mind on the rungs below as she made her way down, feeling Jax's large hands on her hips when she reached the floor. "It's safe to say that I'm never doing that again. I'm staying my pregnant ass on ground level. Nolan isn't having this moving around shit today."

"Mommy!" Janelle ran towards her mom, her eyes filled with tears as she lifted her arms into the air. "Up!"

"What's wrong baby?" Noelle bent and picked up her daughter. "What happened? Why are you crying?"

"Abel pushed me off the slide." She sniffled as she rubbed her eyes with her fists. "I just wanted to slide and he pushed me off. I got an owie on my knee!"

"You're okay baby." The brunette cuddled her daughter to her chest and looked at her husband. "I think you need to go discipline Abel. Jackson, let him know he's not supposed to push around his younger sister. He's supposed to be protecting her at all costs."

Jax nodded slowly as he took his daughter from his wife. "You know you're not supposed to be picking her up like that baby." He kissed Janelle's head and smiled. "I'll go yell at your brother and make your owie all better. Okay darlin'?"

"Okay daddy." Janelle nodded as she rested her head on her dad's shoulder, her hand rubbing his cheek as she calmed herself down. "I don't like Abel anymore. He's a stupid meanie face!"

"He's your brother." He shook his head as he walked out of the clubhouse to see Abel and Wendy at the playground. "Abel, come here. Apologize to your sister."

"She was in my way." Abel shook his head. "I told her to move but she didn't!"

Jax cocked an eyebrow at his son. "You pushed her on purpose? Didn't I tell you about putting hands on a girl? You're supposed to be protecting your little sister not making her cry Abel. Now apologize to Janelle."

"She's not my sister." The six year old shook his head as he ran to his mom. "She's not my sister. She has a different mommy."

The man rolled his eyes as he set his daughter to the ground and directed her towards Noelle. "Abel, go inside the clubhouse right now. I need to talk to your mom." He spoke to gritted teeth, his blue eyes directly on Wendy as he slowly clenched and unclenched his fists. "Wendy, we're going to talk and we're going to talk right now."

Wendy rolled her eyes and huffed. "I have nothing to say to you Jax."

"That's fucking fine because I want to do all the talking." Jax nodded as he watched Abel move towards the clubhouse ahead of Noelle and Janelle. "I don't know what fucking game you're trying to play but you can't tell my son that his sister isn't his sister because they have different moms. They are siblings." He stalked closer to the blonde and glared down at her. "You should be thanking me for even letting you see him. We leave tomorrow and Abel is coming with us. I was actually feeling bad about it too. Now? Not so fucking much if you're putting bullshit in his head like that. Janelle is his sister, whether you fucking like it or not."

"I don't like it." She stood up and glared back at Jax. "I also don't like the fact that you're taking my son away from me again Jax… I don't like that shit at all. I'm going to do my best to make sure I get to keep him."

"For what? What do you have to offer that's better than what Noe and I have?" He backed her up against the wall and snarled. "I'm out of the life. My new life is safe, sane, loving… It's everything that Abel needs. What time do you even have left? You're fucking sick. Paying for your years of addiction Wendy."

"He's my son too Jax and I'd like to spend whatever time I have left with him." She shoved at Jax's chest and shook her head. "You have to at least give me that much time with him."

"I can't even trust you with him… You're trying to poison him against his sister and stepmom." Jax took a step back. "It's fucked up because when you're gone, he's going to need Janelle and Noelle to get him through that shit and if he keeps listening to you and pushing them out of his life, he's going to have no one to comfort him. Yeah, I'll be around for him but there's nothing like a sister or mom to heal wounds." He shook his head as he took another step back. "Think about what the fuck you're doing to the kid next time because when you're gone, he's going to need them and they won't be around if he keeps pushing them away."

 **SOA**

"Boy, Abel is a crybaby." Janelle shook her head as she lifted her head from her dad's shoulder to watch her older brother. "Why's he being a crybaby? Huh daddy?"

Jax shook his head, biting back a small smile. "He's sad because he's saying goodbye to his mommy. Wouldn't you cry if you had to say goodbye to yours?"

"A little but she'd come back." The brunette nodded and smiled. "My mommy would come back so I wouldn't be a big crybaby." She kissed her dad's nose and giggled when he kissed hers back. "Your face tickles me!"

"I think you'd cry a lot." He chuckled as he rubbed his face against hers again. "Does it tickle you? You don't like the facial hair?"

She rubbed his face and shrugged. "I like the hair daddy, it just tickles!" She shook her head and laughed. "What you gonna do later? Can we cuddle and eat some fries together huh daddy? Or do you gotta go to work?"

Jax shook his head as he rubbed his daughter's back and smiled. "I'm gonna cuddle with you later darlin'. You and me, being lazy together and watching some cartoons. Does that sound good babe?"

"How come you call me darlin'?" She cupped his face and smiled. "I like it but how come?"

"Because you're my little darlin'. I love you so much." He nodded. "How come you ask so many questions? You trying to be a genius like your mom?"

Janelle nodded. "I want to be a genius like you and my mama." She giggled. "I'm gonna write like you and then I'm gonna catch bad guys like mama and grandma!"

"Oh, you're gonna be an author who moonlights as a lawyer?" Jax cocked an eyebrow at the brunette, trying to figure out where she had even picked up on his writing. "How do you know I like to write baby?"

She shrugged as she was lowered to the ground. "I pay attention!" She smiled as she began skipping around him. "I love my daddy! Go make Abel stop being a crybaby! It's not cute on him! Only on me!"

He shook his head as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Go find your mom, I'll worry about making Abel feel better." He stood up and swaggered off towards Wendy and Abel, pausing a moment to watch the pair interact. "What's up? How are the goodbyes?"

"How do you think Jax?" Wendy cut her eyes towards her ex. "It's terrible. He doesn't want to leave."

"He'll be back in a few weeks." Jax nodded. "You two won't die without seeing each other." He smirked as he looked at Wendy. "He'll come back. Or better yet, maybe you can find your way down for a visit? You can see if Hap will drive you down for a weekend. Let's just say, I'm feeling a little nice because of my little darlin' over there." He waved at Janelle and smiled. "She brings out the best in me."

"I don't wanna go with you." Abel shook his head as he looked up at his dad. "I wanna stay with my mommy."

"Abel, you can't stay." He lifted Abel off the ground. "You'll see her again soon but until then, you gotta come home. You have school, baseball, your little friend to hangout with and play games. You can't stay here with her yet. Come on, Noe and Nelly are waiting in the car, say goodbye to your mom, you can call her later."

"Bye mommy." Abel reached out for Wendy and gave her a giant hug before sighing. "I'll call you later, okay?" He kissed her cheek and smiled.

"Yeah baby." Wendy nodded as she kissed Abel's forehead. "I'll be waiting for that call." She watched as Jax sent him towards the waiting SUV. "You really mean it? Drive down with Happy?"

Jax nodded slowly. "If Hap will drive you down then yeah." He smirked at the blonde. "Try not to do anything stupid while he's gone Wendy." He moved away from the blonde and towards his wife. "Alright, we're ready to go home. Take a good look around Noe, we officially have no more real ties to Charming… It's really time to move forward."


	31. Home Again

"I have just a little under three weeks left of this pregnancy." Noelle murmured as she tried her best to get comfortable in Jax's plush leather recliner. "I have nineteen days left to cook this kid before he's out and breathing. Do you know how thrilled I am to know he's going to be coming soon and I'll be able to sleep comfortably, even if it is only for two hour periods? I'm just so excited." She wiped at her face and smiled. "I'm also an emotional mess mom."

Blair chuckled as she watched her daughter shift in the chair again. "I can see that you're really feeling those hormones Noelle. I think you need to just take it really easy, nice and slow. Just lounge around until the day is here."

"I wish he would just come early, I don't even mind going into labor right now." The brunette rubbed her belly and sighed. "I got a husband, who's currently unemployed as he starts his own business, a three year old daughter who is trying to learn how to write so she can be like her daddy, and a six year old step son who's showing signs of some internal struggle. He's six! Mom! He should be having fun and enjoying life. Like he was doing before this Wendy bullshit."

The blonde shook her head. "You've been home about a month, he's only seen his mom twice since then. It's hard on the kid, ease up on that. It's only going to drive you up the wall Noelle." She sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose and studied her daughter carefully. "I know you want what's best for him but you can't really blame his behavior on him. This is on his mom and Jax."

"Grandma! I wrote a poem with Grandpa!" Janelle waved her notebook around as she was being held upside down by Happy. "He taught me some new words. Huh?"

Happy shrugged as he dropped the brunette onto the couch. "I taught her some new words. She's quite the talent." He sat down next to her and pulled her onto his lap. "I think you got a future author right here Noe."

"Well, my future author should be getting all washed up to eat her lunch." Noelle looked at her daughter and smiled. "I think you need to start winding down mamas, get your hands washed, let your grandma help you into something comfortable because yeah, I see all the marker ink all over your outfit baby."

Blair stood up and moved to her granddaughter. "Let's get you all dressed up like your mama, sweats, a shirt and your hair in a bun. You wanna look like here?"

Janelle nodded and smiled. "Yes, I want to look like her!" She giggled. "Mama! I'm gonna look like you when I come back down! Come on Grandma!"

"Demanding little thing." Happy shook his head as he watched his girlfriend and granddaughter move towards the stairs. "You doing alright? I thought your sister was going to come to town to help you with this baby too."

Noelle sighed as she looked at he man, she thought so dearly of as her own dad. "Dad, she's not up for it. She's in her emotions. I told her it's fine that she holds off on coming down for a visit until she's absolutely ready to come down for a visit." She nodded as she rubbed her stomach in slow circles. "Now that it's settled, I would like for you to come scare this kid out of me. I'd appreciate it so damn much."

"Let him cook a little more." Happy chuckled as he brought his booted feet up to rest on the coffee table as he looked at the brunette. "You need to take it easy though Noelle. Jax is here, he's dedicated to this new life. You can stop worrying about him jumping ship back to the Sons. It's not gonna happen."

"Can you just get out of my head please?" The brunette rolled her eyes. "I know he's dedicated. I know I don't have to worry about it but you know, I'm hormonal and everything is fucking heightened for me. It's ridiculous as fuck. I went to visit Chris' grave the other day." She sighed. "Sometimes I miss him but then I remember how terrible of a guy he was to me most of the time, then I remember the good times we had with each other. I never want my kids to have that type of relationship with me or Jax…"

"Yeah, you really need to get out of your head." He shook his head as he studied the brunette carefully. "Hey, you gotta not let your experience rub off on your kids. You gotta know that all that shit was all him. You and Jax have done nothing but be there for your kids. He's not gonna let that shit happen."

"Look at me. I'm a blubbering ass baby." Noelle wiped at her face and smiled. "I want him out because I'm ready to cuddle him. That's why."

Happy chuckled and nodded. "See, your true motive is revealed. You just want to cuddle." He shook his head. "Your kid is really smart for her age. She's such an observer, can repeat words like it's no one's business too."

"Don't judge me. You'll love to cuddle with him, as soon as you meet him." She smiled and nodded. "That's my little baby girl. She's gonna give all the boys hell when she's older. She's gonna be the straight A student that's independent and needs no man. Well, at least I hope she's that way until like college. Then she can go off and meet a bad boy, preferably one that's not in a MC."

"It's not working out that way. Sorry to say it." He shook his head. "She's not gonna be like you. She's gonna be a mix between you and Jax. Smart but stubborn as fuck. It'll be a real mess. I'm going to love to see what you two do with that mix."

"Shut up, you're supposed to tell me that she's gonna be just like me!" Noelle whined and shook her head. "I already know that she's going to be difficult as hell. She's going to be my little rebellious baby. I can just feel it. She's going to challenge authority and I'm gonna love every moment of it when I'm not on the verge of strangling her gorgeous ass."

"I wanted to strangle you the moment you showed up to the clubhouse." Happy looked at the brunette and shrugged. "You were too out of place, you looked too foreign, looked like you were trying to be something you weren't and never will be. He basically owned you back then. I wanted to strangle you, talk some sense into your ass, send you back to school and far away from him and the club."

"But you didn't. So what changed your mind?" She looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Because you did something that I hadn't seen in years, since his dad was still around. You made him genuinely happy." He nodded slowly. "You made him happy and want to do something more than what he was doing. He got us out of guns, he got us running a legit business, he made the MC what it was supposed to be all along. It was fun doing all the illegal shit but it's nice to just take it easy and not have to worry about someone shooting up the place."

Noelle nodded slowly as she looked at Happy and smiled. "I gave him a bigger 's what you're saying."

"No, you gave him a reason to want more out of life than what he was currently getting." Happy shrugged. "You made him better."

"He made me better." She nodded. "It's nothing but positive vibes from here on out. Now, start yelling at Nolan to make an appearance. You're not allowed to leave until he's here. I'm gonna need my dad around."

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"I need this!" Janelle grabbed a marker off her desk and bolted out of her bedroom and downstairs where her dad was laying on the floor. "Daddy! I got the marker! We gotta do this right now!"

Jax opened an eye to look at his daughter before he grabbed her and pulled her down next to him. "What exactly do we need to do right now? Why can't it wait until tomorrow morning? You know your mom and grandma will be mad if you're not in bed soon."

"I know but I want you to teach me how to write your name." She passed him the marker. "Come on daddy. I learned how to write Jan already for my name."

He nodded and sat up, accepting the marker and the notebook from his daughter. "You can write J-A-N? How about you write J-A-X?" He wrote his name on the page and smiled. "It's just like Jan but with an X because my name is Jax, well Jackson but everyone calls me Jax."

"Nuh uh." She shook her head. "Your name isn't Jax, silly man. It's daddy!"

He laughed and shook his head. "No, my name is Jackson but you call me daddy because I'm your dad." He pushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead.

"I'm not calling you Jax." She shook her head as she copied what he wrote on the paper. "Show me how to spell daddy. I need to know that too."

He nodded as he grabbed the marker back and wrote daddy at the top of the page. "We'll work on it until you fall asleep, alright baby girl?"

"Yeah!" Janelle nodded and smiled. "You're so silly. How come they named you Jackson? It it 'cause you named me Janelle?"

"My mom and dad named me Jackson, I named you Janelle because I thought it was a gorgeous name for a gorgeous little girl." He kissed her forehead again and smiled. "You excited to become a big sister?"

"Where's your daddy at?" She shrugged as she sat in his lap. "I'm excited. Nolan is gonna be my baby. I'm gonna hold him and teach him stuff."

"Oh, so he's your baby now?" He scooted back so his back was touching the couch and nodded. "Can I at least hold him sometime?"

"Maybe." Nelly nodded. "I may let you hold him when I'm sleeping or I'm too tired. I dunno daddy, we'll have to see about it, okay?"

Jax nodded slowly and smiled to himself. "Okay darlin', just let me know." He kissed her temple. "I do think it's time for you to go to bed though. I'll stay with you tonight if you want me to. Alright baby girl?"

"Alright but can we sleep down here? I want to." She tilted her head back to look at him. "Please daddy?"

"Anything for you baby girl." He stood up and laid on the sofa, keeping his daughter against his chest as he draped the blanket over them. "Now, let's get you to bed before your mom and grandma come down here and yell at us for still be awake at ten."

"I love you. Go mimiz." Janelle kissed his nose and smiled. "Sweet dreams daddy."

 **SOA**

Jax rubbed at his eyes as he started to wake up, the sunlight flooding the living room as he opened his eyes, allowing them to slowly adjust. He knew he knocked out early, cuddling with his daughter always had that effect on him. "What time is it?" He mumbled as he turned to the side to see Noelle in his recliner. "Huh? Where's my little darlin'?"

"It's two in the afternoon, she's down for her nap. You feeling refreshed sleepyhead?" Noelle smiled at her husband. "You needed the sleep, that's why we let you sleep the day away, plus it's Saturday, not like there was anything else you had to do today."

"She's the best sleeping pill ever." He chuckled as he sat up and stretched. "How are you feeling though? The kid still giving you hell?"

She nodded. "She really is and nope, he's being good today. He's moving and kicking but he isn't assaulting my bladder or anything. So, I'm grateful." She smiled as she moved out of the recliner. "I need more snacks, you want anything baby?"

"I'll take whatever you wanna bring me. I'm not picky." He shook his head as he relaxed back onto the couch. "I want us to have a lazy day today. Unless you have something else on your mind babe."

"Nope." Noelle shook her head. "I was just gonna finish washing the rest of Nolan's newborn onesies then be lazy the rest of the day." She trailed her fingers through her hair and smiled. "We can be a lazy ass family Jax. It'll be amazing."

He nodded as he watched her make it to the archway that lead into the kitchen before pausing and clutching her stomach. "Noelle." He was up and at her side in seconds, holding the brunette steady as she looked up at him. "What's wrong babe?"

"Jax, my water just broke." She looked down at the puddle at their feet before looking back up at him. "I don't think he wants to wait anymore."

Jax looked down before looking back up and nodding slowly as he let the information process in his mind. "Wait, okay. Really? He's on the way?" He smiled widely as he lead her towards the sofa and helped her take a seat. "I'll grab everything. He's on the way! Blair! Hap! Nelly! Abel! The baby is on his way! We gotta get going!" He looked at his wife and rubbed his forehead slowly as he watched her try to get comfortable. "The baby is on his way! My son is coming today!"

Noelle shook her head. "I think you just need to calm down and grab everything, we can save the excitement for the car ride over there Jax. Just get us to the hospital before you're trying to deliver your son yourself on the bathroom floor." She flashed him a small smile as she breathed through another contraction. "I don't want to give birth on the bathroom floor. I want to give birth in a hospital bed, with pain medication pumping through my system so I can't feel anything from my waist down… Let's get going."

 _ **To be continued…**_


	32. Nolan

_Six hours_. Only six hours in and Noelle was already over her son. He was playing too many games and all she wanted was to welcome him into the world. Instead he had sent her into labor at thirty-six weeks and then decided not to do much more than that. She shook her head as she looked over at Jax, who was nothing but smiles. "I hate your face so much right now Jackson."

"I love you too babe." He stood up and moved to the side of the bed, taking her hand in his as he looked at her carefully. "I know he's giving you hell but it'll be over soon. They won't let you continue to suffer baby, they'll cut him out if they need to."

She nodded as she looked up at him, her expression softening as she sighed. "I just want him to be here already. He's so close, he's just being stubborn. I don't know where he gets that shit from but I don't like it. Where's our baby girl?"

"She's in the waiting room playing doctor with Hap and Blair." He smiled as he slipped into the bed with her and pulled her closely. "You don't need to put on a brave face right now Noe. I know you're in pain, just let it out. Crying will make you feel kinda better babe."

"I don't wanna cry and be a big baby." She shook her head as she began to cry. "I just want him to be here and I want him to be alright. I just hate this waiting shit. I swear it didn't take this long with Janelle. It seemed like she just slipped right out like a little salamander!"

"Okay, you're cute when you cry but she didn't slip right out like a salamander." He laughed and shook his head. "You were in labor for twelve hours with her Noe. Twelve long hours and then at the end of it, you looked me in the eyes and told me _never again_."

She groaned and rolled her eyes. "I'm for real this time though Jax, after him. No more kids. I will be getting some type of IUD, or rod or whatever the fuck will keep this from happening again. I think two kids is enough for me to birth."

"I can't believe you called my princess a salamander." He scoffed as he pressed a kiss to the brunette's neck and smiled. "I think you need to apologize to her later. I think he's just giving you hell because he's a real Teller. None of your genes are present in that kid." He pointed to her stomach before reaching out and rubbing it softly. "He's already showing his true colors."

Noelle nodded and smiled. "I'm okay with that but he needs to show his face if he really wants to give me hell because I just want to cuddle him Jackson. I want to love on little Nolan and kiss his face and play with his tiny feet. I just want our son to be here already."

"Just stop trying to rush him and he's bound to make his appearance soon." Jax nodded as he continued to rub her belly, trying to ease her nerves and soul. He hated seeing her like this, all worked up and on edge. "Just relax and he'll be out of you in no time. He knows it's no fun in there, he's cramped now, he has no choice but to make an exit. Upgrading from a cramped one bedroom to a spacious five bedroom."

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"Okay mama, you just gotta push a few more times and he'll be here." Dr. Vaughn smiled up at the brunette. "He's right here, his head is out, we just need to get his shoulders out, he's a big boy." She nodded as she rubbed Noelle's leg. "You're doing an amazing job."

Jax nodded as he took a peek between Noelle's legs and shook his head, regretting it instantly. "Okay, yeah, I shouldn't have done that shit at all." He looked at his wife and shook his head. "But yeah, he's just chilling, baby, a few more pushes and we'll have our boy."

Noelle nodded as she gave one huge push. "Why is he so big, he's so not a damn salamander like his sister was. Does he at least have a headful of blonde hair?"

"Yeah he does." He nodded proudly as he held his wife's hand through another push. "He's here, baby, you fucking did it." He kissed her and smiled. "Look at him! He's perfect."

"Cut the cord dad." Dr. Vaughn passed Jax a pair of medical scissors. "He's here. We just need to clean him up and then he's yours to cuddle with before we take him to go do his testing."

"Let me see him…" Noelle smiled at her doctor and covered her mouth when she saw her son. "Nolan, you're fucking perfect."

"He is." Jax nodded as he watched the nurse quickly clean and clothe Nolan before wrapping him into a blanket before passing him off to Noelle. "Look at him, all alert. I'm happy to say that he has my eyes, my hair, my jawline, he has your tan though, no mistaking that already." He smiled as he kissed Noelle's forehead again. "I'm so proud of you baby, you did amazing. You pushed that monster of a child out of you. How much does he weigh again?"

"Eight pounds, fourteen ounces, twenty-three inches." Dr. Vaughn smiled. "I'll let you guys enjoy your time together. I'll be back soon for his tests and then the lactation nurse will be in here after that. We know you know how to feed a baby but it's just a formality of the Labor and Delivery program. Congratulations you two."

"I can't believe it, he's finally here. He's bigger than I expected him to be." The brunette sighed as she looked down at her son. "I love you Nolan Teller, welcome to the family. Your crazy ass family. You're going to love your grandparents, your big sister Janelle, she's going to try to carry you everywhere when she's finally able to lift you up, and your older brother Abel. I think you'll have some fun with him when you're old enough to follow him around."

"I thought he was gonna be tiny but I'm glad that he was bigger." Jax nodded as he sat down on the bed next to Noelle. "You gonna let anyone in here to hold him? Or are we hogging him for ourselves babe?"

"We're gonna hog him." She kissed the newborn's forehead and sighed. "That's my little baby, he's our little baby. We love you so damn much kid. You're so perfect."

"We're gonna have to let them in sooner or later. If not you know they'll just bust the door down to get to him." He moved off the bed and smiled down at his wife. "I can always take him out and show him off and then come back in when he's be doted on enough."

She shook her head. "No, no bring them in here." She smiled up at Jax. "Go get the family and bring him in here and I already know you're gonna have the Sons in town to see him in the next few weeks so, make those calls too. I know you're about to burst at the seams with pride and excitement over having another son babe."

Jax nodded and grinned. "I'll be back." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and moved out of the hospital room and into the waiting room, smiling at the sight of his family. "He's here, Nolan is here and he's a big boy."

"Daddy! My baby is here!?" Janelle rushed to her dad and jumped up and down. "I wanna see him. Can I see NoNo? Huh? What's he like? Can he talk? Is he silly like you?"

"He's a baby, he can't talk yet. You gotta teach him how to talk darlin'." He picked up his daughter and kissed her head. "I hope you weren't giving Blair and Happy too much trouble out here. You can come and see your baby brother."

"Congratulations Jax." Blair smiled at her son-in-law. "You guys welcomed another gorgeous child into the world, I'm sure of it."

"Wait until you see him." He nodded. "He looks like me but has Noe's tan."

"Does he have blue eyes like you daddy? Huh?" Janelle rested her forehead against his and smiled. "You smell like grandpa's kutte."

He shook his head as he walked into the hospital room and smiled at his wife and son. "I brought you a very excited visitor. Her name is Janelle and she wants to know if her baby brother has blue eyes like me." He set his daughter gently onto the bed next to Noelle and Nolan and smiled. "Don't move around too much Nelly, you need to be careful around him. He's new."

"Oh." The three year old looked at the baby before looking between her parents. "He's so handsome… My baby is so handsome. Hi Nolan, I'm your boss now. You have to listen to me because I'm the princess."

Noelle chuckled and shook her head. "What an introduction babe. You're his boss and he has to listen to you because you're also the princess. I told him that he was going to love you because you're a real character." She kissed her daughter's forehead. "He's sorta heavy but I'll let you hold him when he's finished eating later, okay?"

She nodded as she looked at the baby before looking at Abel who was hiding behind Jax. "Come say hi to him Abel, he's our baby brother. He's got daddy's silly hair."

"You're not my boss." Abel shook his head as he took a quick peek at the baby before shrugging. "He's alright."

"That's the best you're gonna get out of him today." Blair shook her head as she picked up Nolan and looked him over. "Aren't you a handsome little man. You're a big guy, look at the size of this head. I feel so bad for your mama."

"Me too." Happy rasped as he kissed Noelle's forehead. "You did good mama. Congratulations."

"Thank you." Noelle nodded and smiled. "I'm just happy he's here and that I couldn't feel a thing once the medicine kicked in. I know I'll be hurting later but I'll deal with that with some motrin or tylenol. Whatever they prescribe me for aftercare." She continued smiling as she looked around at her family, feeling blessed and lucky to have them around her. "I love you guys…"

 **SOA**

"He's down for his nap. She's down for her nap." Jax rubbed his forehead as he looked at Nolan and Janelle, both fast asleep. "She won't leave his side, she's invested in her baby brother. It's ridiculous but cute."

Noelle nodded as she looked at her sleeping children. "How's Abel? Huh?"

"He's down for a nap too." Jax nodded and shrugged. "He's being a little jerk about shit. I don't know what to do with him."

"Give him to his mom." The brunette sighed. "What? He's six and he's acting like his world has just ended because he's not with her. I want him happy not miserable. I don't know, bring her down put her in some cheap apartment and let him see her… Her days are numbered anyway Jax. I have a newborn, I can't keep worrying about Abel. I can't worry about his mental stability, he's a six year old. Get Wendy down here and let him see her until her last days. It'll make your life easier too, I see his behavior wearing on you babe."

He shrugged as he pulled his wife out of the nursery and towards their bedroom. "You're right. I just never thought it'd end up like this. I'll have Blair arrange it. I really don't want to get involved. I want to make him happy but I don't want to deal with Wendy. I just want to get in a thirty minute nap with my wife before Nolan wakes up and then Nelly wakes up and we have him crying and her losing her mind because she can't get him to quiet down with her little shushing and finger to her lips."

"Don't even get me started on her librarian shit." Noelle face planted into the pillows and yawned. "It's been a week and I love it every damn time she does it. For real though Jackson, we need to make sure Abel is okay. I don't want him being resentful towards us because we kept his mom away, even if she is terrible most of the time."

"Shhh, go to sleep." He laughed as he pulled her against him and rubbed her side. "I love you baby now get some sleep."

 **.**

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Noelle yawned as she adjusted the blanket over her body as she fed Nolan. It was five in the evening and all she could think about was her next nap. She was tired, no she was exhausted and she just need another short nap to get her through the rest of the night with her son, who was proving to be a Teller to the T. "I just need to sleep like three hours tonight Nolan. I know you can't understand me but mommy needs some sleep."

"Who are you talking to?" Abel sat on the couch across from Noelle and looked at her. "He can't talk back yet, he's a baby."

"I know he can't talk back yet. I still love talking to him." She shrugged as she looked up at the six year old. "What are you doing? I thought you'd be outside playing since you finished dinner already."

"I didn't wanna go outside and play." He shook his head. "Monster is being bossy now."

She nodded slowly and smirked. "Yeah, she's a little Miss Bossy Booty these days. It's kinda cute sometimes but kinda annoying depending on if she's bossing you around or not." She trailed her fingers through her hair and sighed. "Did my mom get a chance to talk to you? Did your dad talk to you too?"

"Yeah, they told me that my mom is gonna move close so I can see her all the time." Abel nodded and smiled. "I missed her a lot."

"Yeah, I know you did." Noelle shrugged as she adjusted her shirt and the blanket before looking back up at Abel. "I'm glad she's gonna be around for you. It'll be fun, she can see you play baseball, take you to school, pick you up. Do everything fun with you." She traced the bridge of her son's nose and smiled. "It'll be good for you both."

"You're not mad at me?" He looked at Noelle. "I thought you were mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you?" The brunette cocked an eyebrow at the little boy. "I get it, I'm not your mommy, so you don't have to call me that Abel. It's no hard feelings. I just want you to be happy and I'm sure you'll understand that when you're older. I only do things to protect you and make sure that you're good. I'm Noe, so just keep calling me that if it'll make you happy."

He nodded slowly and smiled. "Alright, Noe. I'm glad you're not mad at me. I thought you were mad at me."

"Never." Noelle smiled. "I'll never be mad at you Abel. Unless you do something that warrants me to get mad, like you get in trouble at school, or you do something bad and the police have to come and arrest you. There's nothing I'll be mad at you about unless it's something super serious. Now, go outside and play with your dad, I'm sure Janelle has moved on to just swinging with her dinosaur Thor again."

"Alright! I'll see you in a bit Noe." Abel smiled at the brunette. "I'm going to play."

"You're the most confusing person in the whole world." Blair looked at her daughter as she dropped onto the couch. "I thought you hated that woman but yet you're reaching out to help her move down here?"

The brunette sighed. "He's a miserable six year old, I want nothing but the best for him. So I have to put my differences with her aside and do what's best for _him._ This isn't for her mom, this is for Abel. I don't want him being resentful towards me or Jax, I don't want him to be older and think that we kept him from her. I want him to be happy, to have memories with her. This might be the hormones working overtime but I want him to know her and love her. I want it to be good for him. That's it, so don't look at me like that."

"I'm not looking at you like anything. I'm just proud of you is all. I know I wouldn't be doing this. I didn't do this when your real mom came to town." The blonde shook her head. "You're a bigger person. I will tell you this, you're still going to have to step up and step in if she leaves him. You know that right Noe?"

Noelle nodded as she twisted her wedding band on her finger. "Yeah, I know mom. I stepped in before and I'll step in again. He's like my son, he _is_ my son and I'll be there for him. I'll _always_ be there for him. I love him to death." She smiled as she looked at her mom. "Now, go finish doing your job, I'm not paying you to sit around and lecture my ass. Go find something nice for him to stay at while she's here. Also, bring me some fries back if you leave and some thousand island."


	33. Sass & Sons

" _but did you die?"_

"But did you die?" Melody Serrano looked at her older sister before pulling her into a tight hug. "What? You really thought I was going to miss out on this shit? No fucking way! Kozik said the Sons were coming to visit, I couldn't miss out on that shit! Show me! Show me the baby boy. I need some baby cuddles in my life."

"You're a hot mess." Noelle shook her head as she smiled at her younger sister before pulling her back into a hug. "I missed you so, so much! I swear to God. I didn't realize how much I fucking missed you until just now."

"I missed you too. Now show me my nephew!" The younger brunette pulled her sister into the house and straight into the living room. "I think you need to be in a magazine because this house is perfect and clean. When do you even have the time Noe?"

She shrugged. "I cleaned it just because the guys were coming to town. Usually it's a damn mess. I have no shame. I really don't care." She smirked as she lead Melody up the stairs and into Nolan's room. "He's asleep but knowing him he'll be wide awake in the next five minutes or so. Feel free to stick around and wait for it."

Melody nodded as she looked at her nephew and smiled before picking him up out of the crib and cradling him to her chest. "He's fucking perfect. I love him so much already. How do Abel and Janelle feel about him?"

"According to Janelle, Nolan is her baby and Abel is indifferent about him. He thinks Nolan is alright." Noelle shrugged and smiled. "It's a work in progress between him and Nolan but ya know, they'll get there. He's six, he's not too into the whole baby thing."

"He's a boy." Melody smirked and rolled her eyes. "They aren't into that type of thing. They don't care about a baby until they have one of their own. I can see Nelly being excited. She's a girl, she has the protector instinct and the mothering thing. I see how she babies her daddy."

"You're right." Noelle nodded and smiled. "I just want everything to go smoothly. I fucking caved and had Wendy moved into an apartment down here two weeks ago because of how bad off Abel was. He was like this little walking gray rain cloud. It was terrible. I hated it and I just wanted him happy so I put my shit aside and made a needed judgment call. He's been doing so much better and I'm glad I put my differences aside. I didn't get a thank you from her or anything but he did hug me and give me a kiss. So that made it better."

"Look at you being a damn mom." Melo shook her head as she looked back down at her nephew. "I think he's handsome. He's gonna be a real lady killer. I know this for a damn fact. Look how perfect he is. It's insane. If he's smart, he'll be a model."

"I don't want my son to be a model." Noelle shook her head as she sat in the white rocking chair in the corner of the nursery. "So, how are things with you and Kozik going? I see you two got over the whole marking each other up with bite marks and hickeys."

The curly haired brunette smiled. "We're doing great. He actually proposed." She held up her left hand and nodded. "I'm marrying my Old Man, I'm officially gonna be an Old Lady, whether the Tacoma Hoes like it or not, my ass is a permanent fixture for real, for real."

"Congratulations!" Noelle stood up and moved toward her sister, pulling her into a tight hugh. "Wow! You're such a grave digger. Get your Old Man boo, I ain't even mad at ya." She laughed and smiled. "Melody Kozik. Has a certain ring to it."

"I know, I'm excited as hell Noe." Melody nodded. "I love him so much and it's more than I ever imagined and I don't even care that there's such an age difference. We work and that's all that fucking matters." She kissed her nephew's head as he started to wake up. "Finally, sleepyhead, let me see those baby blues you got there. Aww, so damn gorgeous they are perfect. More blue than your daddy's eyes."

"I'm happy for you Melo. I'm glad life's working out for you and Kozik. You both deserve it. Fuck what anyone says about the age thing. If it works for you two, then that's all that matters." Noelle kissed her sister's forehead and smiled. "Wait until I finish losing this baby weight until you start dress shopping and planning a wedding. I need to look semi decent for your big day."

"Yeah, yeah bitch. I'll wait until you're all skinny and gorgeous until I plan my wedding." Melody smirked and rolled her eyes as she sat down in the rocking chair. "I know that's gonna be in like two months, so be fucking ready and we'll get the planning started. Alright?"

"Yes! I'm down." She nodded and grinned. "I already know what kind of cake you should get and everything." She sat on the floor and sighed. "I can't believe my little sister is getting fucking married."

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"So, this is the kid?" Kozik looked over into the swing at Nolan and smiled. "She gave birth to that monster? Are you sure Opie isn't the dad?" He chuckled and shook his head.

"If he wasn't so cute, I would agree with Koz." Tig shook his head. "You did good man. He's a good looking kid."

"Thanks guys." Jax smiled at his brothers and nodded. "It means a lot to know you guys made the trip down here to see the newest addition to the Teller family. It's good to see you all. It's been a while."

"Wouldn't miss out on it." Opie patted Jax on the back. "He's a quiet thing. I think we can thank his mom for that. You talk a lot."

"Shut it." Jax shook his head. "He's quiet because I'm quiet." He smiled as he started his son's swing, watching the baby boy opening his eyes to look around at the visitors. "He's trying to figure out who the hell you ugly fuckers are."

"Oh! Daddy you said a naughty word in front of my baby!" Janelle pushed through Opie's legs and stood in front of her father, her arms crossed over her chest as she looked up at the man. "You can't say naughty words daddy! It's not good for my baby!"

"Your baby?" Opie looked down at his niece before picking her up. "I didn't know he was yours."

"He is mine. I called dibs Opie." She nodded and smiled. "Make sure you guys don't say naughty words in front of him, he's too little to hear them. Okay?"

"You got it." He nodded as he set her back down to her feet. "You gotta keep your dad in check. He's got a real potty mouth these days."

"Jesus fudgin' christ daddy." Janelle shook her head. "I don't know what to do with ya."

Jax bit back a laugh and shrugged. "I don't know what to do with me either darlin'. How about you go find your mom and aunt. I'll be up there in a few minutes to give you your baby back. I just wanna catch up with my brothers."

"Why was that the cutest shit ever?" Juice looked at Jax and smiled. "She's a damn character."

"Don't even remind me. I love her so much." He nodded as he watched his daughter disappear up the stairs before he pointed to the sofas. "You guys can just settle in. Don't look so uncomfortable and tense."

"It's not that we aren't comfortable, we just got some business to handle with the Dino boys on our way back home." Chibs looked at Jax before sitting back down. "We love being here for a visit and getting our minds off club shit but we got the dummies in Dino, just creating shit for themselves left and right."

Jax nodded slowly, half wanting to know what was going on while the other half just wanted to stay out of it. "Do I even wanna know what's happening now? I thought they were straight laced and good, just like Redwood."

"We thought so too until they reached out. We stopped on our way down and we gotta stop on our way up, let 'em know our decision." Tig nodded. "It's nothing you should be concerned about, Redwood is staying legit. You did too much work for us to backslide into some shit."

He looked at his son before looking back up at his brothers. "If you guys need anything, you guys need to reach out to me. I'll help as much as I can."

"I think it's time for his lunch." Noelle walked into the living room and lifted her son out of his swing. "I'll bring him back when he's finished and all burped." She smiled at the men. "Don't let me interrupt."

"I think your wife is pissed man." Tig shook his head as he watched Jax slowly stand up. "We'll be back. We're gonna go outside and smoke, maybe scare your neighbors while we're at it. Go fix it."

Jax walked up the stairs after his wife, following her into their bedroom before closing the door behind them. "It wasn't the way you are thinking Noelle. It wasn't."

She turned around and shrugged. "What I heard was you offering to help them out. Jackson, you're not in the club anymore. You don't have to help them! You don't have to get dragged into whatever shit they have going on. We just had a baby, not even that long ago. I need your head and your heart here, with me, with him. At least with him."

"I'm here with the both of you." He nodded as he watched her set Nolan down in the bassinet beside their bed. "I made a promise to you. I want you to know that I'm not gonna be skipping out on you guys to put a kutte on and rejoin the Sons. Noelle look at me. I'm not going back to that fucking life. I have everything that I need right here, with you and my children."

"Okay." Noelle sat on the bed and nodded. "I'm just hormonal and worried. I'm sorry Jackson. I am so sorry."

He shook his head as he walked to her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Don't apologize Noelle. I'm the one who's sorry. I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere. It's going to take more than some shit with the club to ever take me away from you. I'm not leaving. I love you too much for that shit."

"I know." She hugged him back and smiled. "I just need to get my hormones under control. I swear I need to get them under control." She rested her head on his chest and sighed. "Just ignore me and go be with your brothers."

Jax shook his head. "They can wait. I'm gonna stay here with you until you fall asleep. Then I'll take Nolan back downstairs to stare at his ugly ass uncles. I also am sure they're eating up our three year old boss, Janelle. She keeps getting on me about _naughty_ words in front of her baby." He lowered them onto the bed and smiled. "Feed our son then take a nap… If he wakes up hungry in a few hours, I'll just give him the bottle from the fridge. Alright? I love you."

Noelle nodded and smiled. "Alright. I love you too. Make sure you warm it up enough for him."

 **SOA**

"That's my baby!" Janelle looked up at her uncle Opie and crossed her arms. "Can I have him back please!?"

Opie shook his head and chuckled as he rested his free hand on the three year old's head. "I think you can share him for about five minutes Janelle. I just want to hold him and see what he's all about."

"Daddy! Opie won't give me my baby back!" The brunette huffed as she dropped to the plush carpeted floor and poked her bottom lip out. "When my mommy gets out the shower she's gonna kick your ass for taking my baby!"

"Jesus Christ, go into the corner right now Janelle." Jax lifted his daughter to her feet. "You can't say a naughty word. If you don't go to the corner, I'll have to pop you."

"Fine!" She turned on her heel and moved to the first corner she saw. "I'm gonna only stay here for three minutes!" She held up three tiny fingers before resting her head against the wall and letting out an audible sigh.

"She's going through a mine phase and wanting all the attention phase at the same time. Blair and Noelle keep explaining it to me but I'm so over her behavior at this point." Jax shook his head as he dropped into his recliner and looked at his daughter's back. "My kid is turning into a brat sometimes."

"That's the fun of having a daughter. Her many mood swings in a short amount of time. Just imagine when she's a teenager. This shit is going to quadruple and you have to add boys into the mix. It's going to be nothing but trouble and headaches for you Jax." Opie smirked at his best friend. "She's going to be more work than the club was."

"I could handle the club because I could kick some asses. I can't threaten her. I don't want her to be physically scared of me." Jax rubbed his hands up and down his face before groaning as he watched Janelle slink out of the corner and towards the kitchen. "Bring your butt back in here and sit on the couch with your uncle Ope and baby brother. I'll let you know when you can get your snack Janelle. You hear me?"

Janelle climbed on the sofa and nodded. "Okay daddy, I hear you." She laid down and looked at him, her tiny fists rubbing her eyes as she yawned. "I'm not taking a nap, I'm not sleepy."

He nodded and smirked. "Whatever you say darlin'. If you don't want to take a nap than you don't have to. Just stay where you are and watch some football with us."

"That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna watch some football." The three year old yawned again. "Maybe I'll just take a little nap."

"Whatever you want baby girl." Jax smiled as he relaxed into the recliner and watched as his three year old drifted to sleep. "Well, that explains why she was even more grumpy and bossy than usual. Poor thing was fighting her sleep. I hate when she does that. It just makes her look absolutely miserable."

Opie chuckled and shook his head. "That's gonna be a thing until she's old enough to stay awake the entire day." He stood up slowly and draped a blanket over the toddler before passing Nolan to Jax. "I gotta make a call and make sure they don't need me or anything with the Dino guys. I'll be right back Jax."

"Take your time brotha." He nodded as he looked down at his sleeping son. "If you need to go, you don't even have to come back inside to tell me. Just head out."

"She's down for her nap." Noelle walked into the living room and smiled. "I'm so happy that she's asleep because she was too grumpy for her own good." She kissed her daughter's forehead before taking a seat on the couch and looking at the TV. "Ew, football."

Jax shook his head and smirked at his wife. "Just lay down and go to sleep with her. I'm not turning the game off. So, don't even get any ideas. We're just having a lazy Sunday afternoon together while our guests are off exploring the lands. You feeling better after the shower?"

She nodded. "I'm feeling so much better. It's actually insane how much impact the shower had on me. It's amazing… I'm still sorry about yesterday and getting all worried that you were going to leave for the club."

He waved her off, he understood where she was coming from. His offer to help was unexpected, especially after their talk on the roof when they were getting ready to leave Charming. He loved his new life and his family but he couldn't help but want to help the club that became his family. He would do anything to help them, he just needed to find a way to do it without pissing his wife off or making her worry. "Don't worry about it. I understand why you freaked. I love you, now like I keep telling you over and over these days. Get some sleep."


	34. Past & Present

" _What are you thinking about?" Jax tapped the brunette's bare thigh as he rolled over to look at her, his eyes taking in her profile in the light of the setting sun. He didn't know why he spent his off days in bed with the college coed, he just knew it felt right and well, that was enough for him. "You just gonna stay quiet… You weren't quiet a few minutes ago."_

 _Noelle shrugged as she looked at Jax. "I'm just trying to figure out what's happening between us. Are we friends who fuck, are we just fuck buddies, is there something more developing between us. Don't get me wrong, the sex is amazing and I enjoy it each and every time." She reached down and stilled his hand on her thigh. "I just kinda need to know if this is going somewhere, I guess."_

 _He nodded slowly as he crept further up her body, until his face was inches from hers. "It's going somewhere, I don't know where but it's definitely going somewhere…"_

" _Alright, I guess I can work with that. I just needed to know we were on the same page- well at least the same book." She chuckled as she pressed a kiss to his lips and smiled. "I like you a lot Jax. I wish we saw more of each other though. You got a wife and kid that you're always running back home to when your phone rings?"_

 _He laughed and shook his head as he sat up and pulled her into a sitting position next to him. "I don't have a wife and kid that I run back to when my phone rings. I have a club to run. When the phone rings, I have to stop what I'm doing and go handle it. What kind of club President would I be if I didn't handle what I needed to?"_

 _She cocked a perfectly arched eyebrow at him. "A club? President? Are you secretly a college student Jax? Or am I completely missing out on something here?"_

 _He shrugged as he moved off the bed and toward his backpack sitting on her desk. "It's not a college club, I'm not a student either." He pulled out his kutte and looked down at it for a moment before turning around and holding it up for her to see it. "I'm in a motorcycle club, the Sons of Anarchy. I'm president of the Charming charter. Redwood Original." He pointed to the patches on the leather and nodded slowly, trying to gauge how the gorgeous brunette was about to react to what he had just told her._

" _Motorcycle club? That's a relief because if you were married with a kid, that'd be a dealbreaker. The college club thing would've been alright but my mind was going to the worst shit possible. I thought you were going to pull out some business card to a strip club you owned." She moved off the bed and walked towards him. "So, you guys are the bad ass white boy version of the Mayans then?"_

" _You know about the Mayans?" He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked down at her. "What do you know about the Mayans?"_

" _I know that they pretty much run Oakland when it comes to the whole MC thing but that's about it. It's kind of hard to live in Oakland and not know about the Mayans." She shrugged as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "So, that really explains the leaving and coming at strange hours, the backpack, the Harley and the way you always smell like leather. I'm sleeping with a biker. My parents would kill me if they found out."_

 _Jax chuckled as he lifted her off her feet and carried her back to her bed. "Well, let's hope they don't find out anytime soon because I'd be sad if they killed you." He kissed her roughly, his hands moving up the outsides of her thighs. "So sad if they did…"_

"Earth to Jackson." Noelle waved her hand in front of her husband's face and shook her head. "Jax! Jax! Hello!"

Jax jumped out of his daydream and looked at the brunette before him. "Shit, I'm sorry. I was lost in my thoughts." He shook his head as he pulled her closer to him and rested his head against her stomach. "I was thinking about the time I first told you that I was in the Sons."

She nodded slowly as she trailed her fingers through his hair and smiled. "Yeah, that lead to about six hours of mind blowing sex and you wearing the kutte for me. Ahh, it was an amazing time." She chuckled as she grabbed his hair roughly and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Look at us now, married, two kids and living in Orange County."

He nodded slowly and smiled up at her. "I know. It's been a crazy couple of years." He wrapped an arm tightly around her waist and sighed. "What's up though? What can I do for you baby?"

"I was trying to let you know that the paperwork arrived for the location you were looking at for your shop." She grinned at him and shrugged. "It's on the kitchen counter. The agent said just look it over when you get the chance and let her know if you want to change anything or go ahead and make the offer."

"I will go over it when I go downstairs. How are you today? Still bummed about your sister having to leave early?" He furrowed his brow. "I'm sure she'll come back for another visit really soon Noelle."

The brunette shrugged. "I'm alright. It's Melo, she comes and she goes. I can't expect her to stay in one place for too long. I was just really excited to talk about her getting married. Did you see the ring Koz gave her. It's almost as pretty as mine." Noelle smirked as she dropped onto her husband's lap and kissed his lips softly. "I'm so happy that the kids are asleep. It's amazing to have my little brat down for her nap. I'm so over her mine phase already. She won't let her brother out of her sight. It's cute but shit."

Jax laughed as he buried his face into his wife's neck. "I know. She's a little tyrant. I am a little proud but also a little annoyed with her behavior these days. I love her to death. I do want to talk to you about Abel and Wendy though. I'm glad you made that judgement call. Her being around has been good for him. It's made shit a hell of alot easier on us too. So, thanks for suggesting that. Thanks for loving him enough to put your shit with her aside to do what's best for him and his mental health."

"He's my son. I love him so of course I'm gonna do what I need to. I can't have the kid being miserable about it." She smiled as she rested her head against his. "I do need to get some housework done. It's been a few days since I've been up for some cleaning. You want to be Mr. Mom and help me out with that?"

"Not at all." He stood up and lifted the brunette up with him. "I can follow you downstairs and go over the paperwork, maybe meet the agent one more time to look at the garage before I sign over most of the savings. I can't believe I'm gonna own my own spot down here. I have no idea what to call it either."

"Hmm. I think you should call it Jax's. Simple and to the point. It's yours and no one else's." She nodded as they walked down the stairs quietly. "It's also possible to name it Teller's or whatever but that's kinda like Teller-Morrow but you can always just have it be JT's. It'll honor your dad and you at the same time. I'm just throwing it out there."

"JT's might work." He nodded as he grabbed the paperwork from the kitchen counter and began to skim over it. "I can't believe I'm doing thing. I can't believe I even qualified for this shit. I am a convicted felon after all."

"I hope you didn't disclose that fact to the agent." Noelle shook her head as she opened the dishwasher. "Some shit is on a need to know basis but you already know that I'm sure of it babe."

He smirked at the brunette's back and nodded. "Of course I know all about it." He poked the back of her head with the packet of paper. "I think you need to remember that you were a lawyer and shit. I kinda forget about that aspect of your life."

"Not a lawyer. I was almost a lawyer but I was thinking about joining my mom's firm again when Nolan is in kindergarten. Or when he's old enough for preschool. Or even old enough for me to tote him to an office setting." She turned and smiled at the handsome man. "I just want to go forth and pursue my dream. I'm going to be in family law. Help kids and families."

"Same thing." He grinned at her. "I support you on that. I think you can just strap him to your chest and take him with you to work though babe. He's quiet most of the time. He only cries when he's hungry or when Tig holds him."

"Well we know that he won't be crying on account that Tig isn't around." Noelle shrugged as she closed the loaded dishwasher. "I just know that I want to work. I don't see myself being a stay at home mom for the rest of my life. Those women are never really happy because as soon as their kids leave for college they are completely lost."

Jax nodded as he pulled the brunette back to him and pressed kisses to the side of her neck and smiled. "I support that babe. You working and doing what you love." He rubbed over her hips and kissed her cheek. "I love you babe, more than you'll ever know."

 **.**

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"He's my baby!" Janelle shouted as she crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing at her older brother Abel as he held their younger brother Nolan. "Abel, why are you touching my baby? Huh!?"

Abel rolled his eyes and shook his head as he looked at his younger sister, slowly turning red in the face. "Dad said I could hold him! You have to share Monster!"

"No, no!" She wagged a tiny finger in his face. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

Jax walked into the living room and lifted his daughter from the floor before setting her onto her chair. "I told you to sit, eat your snack and leave your brothers alone." He looked down at her and shook his head. "You gotta lose the attitude Janelle, I'm not having this shit. You hear me?"

Janelle nodded slowly as she picked up her sandwich and took a small bite of it. "I hear you. You don't have to say it again."

"You're three, don't talk back." He dropped down to her level and looked her in the eyes. "What's gotten into you? Huh? You've been acting out ever since your baby brother was born."

"I wanna be the baby again!" She pouted. "Not Nolan. I want all the cuddles from you and mommy."

He nodded slowly before pulling his daughter into a hug. "I want you to know that you'll always be my baby girl." He kissed her head and smiled. "You just need to behave a little better Janelle. You can't keep talking back or getting mad at everyone. We have enough cuddles and love to give to you and your brothers."

"No! I'm not your baby girl! I'm your little darlin'." She smiled as she hugged her dad's neck. "I love you daddy."

"I love you too." Jax grinned as he rubbed Janelle's back. "Now, I'm gonna put you back down and you're going to eat your snack, wash your hands then you're going to lay down and take a nap."

Janelle nodded as she was back on her chair. "Okay daddy. You want a bite of my sandwich? It's cheese! Mommy made it for me but I'll share a bite with you." She held it up and giggled when he took a bite of the sandwich. "Yummy!"

He nodded as he kissed her cheek. "It is yummy. I need to see if she'll make me a snack before I take a nap."

"Dad! He's waking up." Abel looked between Nolan and his dad. "I don't know what to do with him now that he's awake."

Jax chuckled as he moved towards his sons and picked up Nolan. "He just wants to see what is going on around him. He's not gonna cry, he's just not used to you holding him. You haven't been around that much."

Abel nodded as he watched his dad begin to rock Nolan. "What's he trying to figure out about me?"

"He just wants to see what his older brother looks like." The man nodded as he sat down next to Abel and turned Nolan to see the six year old. "See, he just wanted to look at that ugly mug of yours. See if he'll end up looking as funny as you do when he's six."

"I don't look funny." Abel shook his head and laughed. "My mommy says I'm handsome."

"Oh is that so?" Jax nodded and smirked. "Well, if she says so then it has to be true. I think you need to go eat your snack too though, then go down for a nap. You're looking as tired as your sister over there. She can barely keep her eyes open to eat her apples."

The little boy chuckled and shook his head. "I'll eat my snack but I'm not tired. I'm waiting for my mom to call me back. So she can come see me play baseball this weekend."

"Well, if you can stay up through your nap time, then I'm all for it kid." Jax shrugged. "Me and Nolan are gonna go down for a nap though. So hold down the fort while we're asleep."

 **SOA**

Jax turned the keys over in his hands once again before looking up at the sign on his newly purchase garage. _JT's_. He read to himself as a smiled played on his lips. It had been a long fight, a struggle, headaches, heartaches, losses and wins. He had managed to stick through it all and make a life for himself and the family he never thought he'd have. Now that he had it all, he knew he had to do everything in his power to keep it all. "My wife can't find out about this." He looked back at Opie, Chibs, Tig, Kozik, Happy, Juice, and a few Sons from the Bernardino charter. "She'd fucking lose her mind if she knew I was helping you out."

"She won't find out Jackie." Chibs shook his head as he patted Jax on the shoulder. "We only need you to be a front for a few months, then you're out and back on the straight and narrow. She'll never have to know if we do this shit right."

He nodded slowly, knowing that his life would be twisted upside if Noelle did manage to find out that he had broken his promise to stay away from the Sons and giving them any sort of help. "That's fine. I just need it to be as low key as possible. I know Noe will be coming around when I start setting up shop, so if we are working together, I don't need any Reapers or anything that will trigger her."

"It'll be all low key." Opie nodded. "We're going to have the prospects around. You pretend you hired them. They're all good with bikes and cars. We trust them to handle most of this shit. There will be a couple of first year full patches helping out too. They'll be filled in and won't be in reapers or shit like that."

"Good." Jax passed Opie a set of spare keys. "I want to keep my wife and my life. I'm helping you guys out because we're family and I don't want to see anything bad happen that'll make any charters fold. So, keep that in mind. If Noelle finds out, I will have no choice but to cut ties with all of you." He looked at each and every one of his brothers. "That's a promise."

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Noelle groaned as she heard Jax's voice. "Babe, what time is it?" She turned her head to look at the clock on her nightstand and rolled her eyes. _5:54 AM_. She shook her head as she buried her face into her pillows and yawned. "Come back to bed!"

Jax looked at his wife before ending his call and moving back towards the bed. "Sorry, I had to take the call. Something about the garage paperwork. You know that they're ahead of us by three hours on the east coast babe."

"Mmhmm." She nodded slowly as she curled into Jax's side. "Let it go to voicemail next time. I don't like being woken up before Nolan is even awake."

He nodded slowly, feeling a bit of guilt begin to build in his stomach. "I know. I know. Go back to sleep. I'll get up with him when he finally wakes up. I love you."

"I love you too." Noelle mumbled as she kissed his chest. "No more calls though… Go back to sleep too."


	35. Burn

Noelle rocked Nolan gently as she watched Jax bustle around his new office, getting everything in order to start interviewing potential employees. She had been on edge lately, ever since Jax had been getting calls at weird hours. It was sending her back into the mindset she had when they first started dating. He was up to no good and it for sure had to involved his brothers that had left a week ago. "Janelle, be careful. Stay out of your dad's way. Okay baby girl?"

Janelle nodded as she slinked towards her mom and smiled. "So, daddy is the boss now? He gets to be a Mr. Bossy Booty?"

Jax chuckled and turned to see his daughter with her arms crossed. "Yes, I get to boss people around and tell them what to do. It's quite amazing."

"Oh." She smirked up at him. "I wanna be the other boss! Can I boss some people around dad? I'm good at it!"

He lifted her up and nodded. "I know you're good at being the boss. You gotta be a little older to be the boss around here though. You have to at least know how to work on a bike or a car darlin'."

"Well, I know how to fix fake ones." The brunette patted her dad's cheeks. "That's close enough."

"No way." He shook his head as he set her back down on her feet. "I'll teach you how to work on bikes and cars when you get a little bit older. When you're five, alright?"

Janelle smiled. "I guess I can wait two years! Mama, did you hear? I get to learn how to work on bikes and cars when I'm five. Then I get to be a boss and tell all the people what to do and they have to listen to me because I'm the boss."

"You're in for it now Jax." Noelle smirked and shook her head. I'm sure you're going to have a lot of fun being the boss Nelly. I know the employees will always be on the top of their game with you watching over them with your dad."

"I'm gonna make sure that I keep them in line." The three year old smiled as she moved towards her mom. "Can I hold my baby? I won't drop him. I promise." She nodded as she sat down on the couch and held her arms out. "Come on Nole."

The brunette nodded as she passed her son to his older sister. "Take good care of your baby. He's cute and looking at you. He's trying to remember your face for future reference." She smiled as she watched Jax look at his phone and scoff before sliding it back into his pocket. "Who pissed you off with a text?"

"It's nothing." Jax shook his head as he looked at his wife and smiled. "I was just trying to get one of the guys I worked with to jump over here. He said no."

"Ok." She sighed as she looked down at her nails. "Who called you the other night? It was early, it woke me up."

"It was one of the guys, letting me know they made it back safely." He shrugged as he picked up a stack of paperwork. "I'm sorry that it woke you up babe but I had to answer it. You wanna sit in on interviews with me or are you good with just hanging out in the office while I do them alone."

She shook her head. "I don't wanna sit in on interviews. I think we'll just stick around for a little longer before going home. I don't want to keep Nolan out for too long."

Jax nodded and looked at his wife, trying to figure out what had made the brunette go from happy to upset in a matter of seconds. "Alright, Noe. Abel is coming by later, can I keep Janelle with me?"

"Yeah, she can stay with you. I'm not against that." She smiled. "Just make sure she doesn't turn into a tiny tyrant. Alright Jax?"

"What's wrong babe? You seem distant…" He picked his daughter up off the couch and set her to her feet. "Go sit at the desk… I'll be right there." He watched the three year skip away before looking back at his wife. "You gotta talk to me Noelle. I can't help if I don't know what's going on with you."

Noelle shrugged. "Honestly? I'm worried. I don't like the whole you being secretive thing and getting calls at weird hours of the night. It takes me back to when you were a Son and sometimes I'd wake up and you'd be leaving or you'd be gone without much explanation."

"It's nothing, I promise. The guys have been asking for advice, that's it Noelle." Jax sat down next to her and rubbed his hands up and down his face. "I'm sorry for taking you back to that mindset but nothing is gonna happen and I'm not doing anything but offering advice from my experience as the club's president. That's all."

"I'm sorry." She nodded slowly as she stared at him. "I just don't want anything disrupting what we've managed to build for our kids. I don't want them to have to grow up around the club like you did Jax."

"Like I said before, I'm not doing some sneaky shit. I'm all about this life we have together Noelle." He kissed her temple and smiled. "Go home, get some sleep with Nolan. I'll be home with the other two after I finish all of the interviews. I love you."

"I love you too." Noelle smiled. "Have fun with those interviews."

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Jax was tired. The interview process had taken longer than he initially expected. He shook his head as he looked toward the leather sofa, is daughter was curled into a ball under his hoodie, sleeping like a dream while Abel was on his tablet, playing yet another game. He let out a yawn before standing up from his chair and stretching. "It's finally time to go."

"Finally." Abel looked up from the tablet. "Which ones are you gonna hire?"

"I think I'm gonna hire them all." He smiled and nodded as he scooped his daughter up from the sofa. "Could use a big crew. What do you think?"

"I think that's good." The six year old nodded. "I liked all of the guys and the one girl."

"Yeah, she was cool." Jax adjusted Janelle in his arms as he started locking up the garage. "I can't wait to get home and relax, watch some tv." He murmured as she felt his daughter wrap her arms around his neck. "I think I'll put her down and maybe you and I can hang a little before you go to bed."

"Ok." Abel smiled. "We can do that."

He grinned back at his son as they walked to the truck. "I want to stop by In n Out, we can pick up some food. Noe probably hasn't eaten dinner yet, so we gotta grab some burgers and fries for her and whatever you and your sister wanna eat. Don't get crazy though." He placed his daughter in her booster seat and kissed her head, smiling as she started to wake up. "Sleepy head."

"I heard you say fries." Janelle reached out for her dad. "I want some fries and some more cuddles daddy."

"I'll get you fries and when we get home, I'll give you all the cuddles in the world darlin'." Jax closed the back door before moving to the driver side and climbing in. "Let's roll."

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"Some cuddles now." Janelle smiled at her dad as she crawled into her lap with her burger and fries. "I don't want any ketchup either. I like the other sauce." She pointed to the thousand island dressing Jax was holding. "Can I have some daddy?"

He nodded as he held up the sauce for her to dip her fries into. "I need to make sure I get you some of this for you next time too. I didn't think you'd like it."

"It's yummy." She nodded as she leaned back against him before taking a big bite of her burger. "It's all so yummy. I want this every day for dinner." She tilted her head back and looked at her dad. "If mommy doesn't eat hers, I'm gonna eat her burger. I like the bacon on it."

Jax chuckled. "I don't think you can handle eating another bacon cheeseburger darlin'. You may get a tummy ache." He poked at her stomach and smiled. "I don't want you getting sick."

"I'll eat it tomorrow for breakfast." She gave a stern nod. "I don't need cereal, I'll just eat the burger. It's almost like breakfast, it has bacon in it." She took a sip of her juice and smiled. "I love apple juice so much."

The man smiled and nodded, admiring how his daughter was so pleased by the small things in her life. "That's a good argument. I cannot argue with that. Bacon is a breakfast food, so the burger is a breakfast food. You've loved juice ever since the first time your mom let you taste it. Your eyes went really wide and you flashed a cute toothless smile. It was cute."

"Juice is lovely." Janelle nodded and smiled. "Can I have a bite of your burger? Yours has veggies on it, does it taste good?"

"Take a bite and see for yourself." He grinned as he watched her take a bite of the burger. "It's good huh?"

She shrugged. "I liked the onions! Mommy eats those on her burger but she never gives me any on my burgers." She poked out her bottom lip. "I want onions on my burger next time, ok daddy?"

"Yeah, onions next time." Jax nodded. "Now, finish your dinner so we can cuddle."

"Jackson." Noelle stood in front of the tv, holding up his ringing phone before tossing it to him. "Next time don't leave it upstairs with me. It's been vibrating nonstop for the last thirty minutes and I tried to ignore it but it's annoying as hell. So, answer it and tell whoever it is to call once and leave a damn message."

"Shit, I gotta take this. It's Opie." He stood up from his recliner and kissed Janelle's head. "I'll be right back to finish cuddling. I'm sorry Noe, I'll make sure he knows to leave a message next time."

The brunette nodded and crossed her arms as she watched her husband slip out the sliding glass doors. "I swear, he's hiding something." She mumbled as she dropped onto the sofa before removing the baby monitor from her waistband. "Baby girl toss me my burger and you can have some sips of my milkshake."

Janelle frowned before tossing her mom the bag of fast food. "There you go. I was gonna eat that for breakfast but I guess you can have it."

"Well aren't you generous." Noelle chuckled as she pulled the burger out of the bag and took a bite of it. "I'll buy you a burger for breakfast tomorrow baby. I promise. You can have a big ol' bacon cheeseburger with extra bacon."

"And onions!" She nodded. "Daddy let me have some of his burger. It had veggies on it. It was good."

"Oh, so you're eating veggies now too?" Noelle smiled. "That's good to know. You always eat onions though baby. Onion rings are onions and you eat those like once a week."

"What?" Janelle looked at her mom with wide eyes. "I didn't know they were onions! I just thought they were rings!"

She laughed and shook her head. "Nope, it's onions underneath the crunchy breading." She passed her milkshake to Janelle. "Have some sips but don't drink all of it or I'll be sad and start crying."

"I want to eat some of them tomorrow for breakfast too." The three year old smiled and nodded. "I want them with this sauce. Daddy said it's thousand island or whatever." She shrugged as she dipped her burger into it. "It's yummy."

Noelle smiled. "It's a good sauce." She nodded as she watched Jax walk back into the house, his face red. "Whoa, babe what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Jax shook his head as he sat down next to his wife. "I got into an argument with Opie because the club is gonna make stupid moves."

"Sorry babe." She trailed her hands through her hair. "I hope it works out."

"Yeah me too." He grabbed her milkshake and took a generous sip. "I'm not too worried about it. It's not affecting us." He kissed her cheek and smiled. "I love you babe."

"I love you too." Noelle grinned. "So much."

 **SOA**

Jax moved around the JT office, his mind going over everything that had happened in the last month. He had gotten back into bed with the Sons, opened his own garage and managed to make his wife slightly paranoid with the amount of calls he was getting. He claimed that they were all business calls, which wasn't an entire lie. He was handling business and he understood her paranoia. He shook his head as he dropped back into the office chair. "Shit." He looked up as his door opened. "Hey Rocco."

"Jax." Rocco closed the door behind him before sitting in the chair opposite of Jax. "I got some news from your Charming boys. The shipment will be coming up tonight. A little early but it works out the best. We'll get the shipment, me and Greg will drive it up this tomorrow since we have the day off."

"Alright." Jax nodded as he looked at the young man across from him. "That works for me. What time tonight? last hour before we close? So it doesn't look suspicious."

"Yeah, of course man." Rocco nodded. "We'll keep it low key and easy. Don't want to draw any attention to us."

"Yeah, that sounds good. Get back to work. I think Lucy needs some help in the garage. She's been working on that damn Honda for two hours." He shook his head. "Go help her. If she can't get it finished, then step in and finish it up. I want it out of here."

"Daddy!" Janelle rushed into the office and towards her dad. "Hi! Mommy dropped me off! She said I could hang out with you until the garage is closed."

"Hey darlin'." Jax picked up his daughter and smiled before looking up at Noelle who was walking into the office. "Hey babe."

"I have to run some errands and hit a few doctor appointments. I figured she'd have more fun hanging around here than being dragged from place to place with me and Nolan." Noelle smiled. "After all she does want to be a mechanic like her daddy."

"I'll put her to work, get her a coverall." He smiled. "Everything's alright though? Should I be worried about the appointments?"

She shook her head. "No, it's just some simple things." She looked at Rocco. "You can leave… It's now becoming a personal conversation." She eyed him carefully, her eyes dropping to the reaper on his lower leg before she looked back up at his face. "Thank you…" She watched him walk out of the office before turning her attention back on her husband. "It's time for me to get the IUD put in. No more kids." She shifted Nolan in her arms. "That Rocco guy is a walking invasion of privacy."

"He's slow but he's fast with fixing cars." Jax shrugged as he braided Janelle's hair. "I will give him a talking to later. If you come in, then he needs to leave. So, you sure you don't need me to come with you? Hold your hand?"

"I'll be fine, it's twenty seconds of pain for security of not being surprised again." Noelle smiled. "I can handle it. I'll have your twin in there with me. He'll keep reminding me that I don't need a triplet running around. Janelle you gonna be good for your dad? Make sure he's not getting into any trouble? Remember, he can't have too much candy or he'll get a tummy ache just like you and Abel get when you over do it."

"I'll keep him in line." Janelle nodded as she patted her dad's cheeks. "You hear that daddy? I'm the boss of the candy, you can have one piece! No more than that, ok?"

Jax nodded and chuckled. "Yes, _boss_." He kissed the brunette's forehead. "Only one piece of candy for me today. I will be on my best behavior. I don't want my boss to fire me Noelle. I need this job."

"Good." Noelle kissed him. "I love you guys. Be good, the both of you. I won't hesitate to put you both in time out when I pick her up later. I know you rode your Dyna here, so I'll be back to get her around closing. Alright baby?"

"Yeah, babe. Go have fun with your appointments." He smirked. "I love you too."

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"Are you sure about this?" Blair looked at her daughter and sighed. "I think it's sort of extreme to jump to this type of measure. It's just your hormones, they're still not back in control."

Noelle shrugged as she looked over the paperwork. "It's a precaution. I want to make sure that it's not in my name if some shit happens at the garage mom. Something just isn't sitting right with me. Like this kid he hired, Rocco, has a goddamn reaper tattooed on his lower leg. Same style as Juice and Jax's almost. It's just too much to be a damn coincidence."

"So you think that something is going on?" The blonde sighed as she took the paperwork back. "It's not in your name. It's solely in his name."

"Good because if for some reason he's doing something illegal with the Sons again and they get caught I don't want my name attached to that shit." She shook her head as she adjusted in her chair. "I got the IUD, I'm still a little sore and uncomfortable."

Blair nodded. "That's smart but I don't think he's getting back involved with them. He's come too far to fuck shit up like that Noelle."

"You haven't been around him since his brothers left over a month ago." Noelle shook her head as she tapped her nails on her mom's glass desk. "He's been secretive, taking calls at all hours of the night and early morning, he hired most of the guys before background checks even passed. If it weren't Jax, if he wasn't coming home and fucking me every chance he got, I would think he was cheating on me but it _has_ to be the club he's getting into bed with."

"Jesus." She huffed and shook her head. "Just talk to him about it Noelle. It's the only way that you're going to get any answers."

"He lies!" Noelle smacked the desk. "He fucking lies to my face about this shit. He looks me in the eyes and tells me he's not doing shit with the Sons but I know he is mom! It's like killing me to know that he doesn't think I'm worth the goddamn truth. My husband is lying to me and he's putting the family in danger. If something goes wrong… God forbid but if something were to go wrong, then I'd have two kids and a dead husband."

Blair sighed as she rubbed her temples with her thumbs. "Calm down, drink some water. You can't get worked up about this shit. If he's doing this shit then you need to find the proof and you threaten his ass with it. You threaten divorce and taking Janelle and Nolan away from him. If he's all about family as much as he claims he is, then you use it against him and it'll show if he really is all about family if he owns up to his shit and walks away from it again."

The brunette huffed as she wiped at her eyes. "It just fucking sucks. I had so much faith in the change. I was fucking stupid as hell to think that he could stay away from that shit. He hasn't even been out that long mom!" She looked at Nolan as he stared back at her. "I have a near carbon copy of Jackson. I'm going to have to raise both of my kids alone and answer the _where's daddy?_ Janelle is going to be wrecked. She can't even go a day without her dad and his cuddles mom. What am I gonna fucking do?"

"You're gonna relax is what you're gonna do." Blair rounded her desk and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "You're going to go talk to him about it, since you're picking up Janelle later anyway. Let him know everything that's on your mind and give him a chance to own up to it. If he doesn't, then I'll start the divorce process. You can be a single mom and you can let him see the kids on supervised visits. It'll be helpful. You can do it babe."

Noelle nodded as she buried her face in her mom's neck and sighed. "I just thought it was going to work out for us. I don't want my marriage to end but I don't want to sit back and watch my husband go into a tailspin. It's a fucked up position that he's put me in." She sniffled. "I just wanted my happy ending with Jackson."

"You never know. You still may end up with that happy ending." Blair rubbed the brunette's back. "Just gotta try your best to be optimistic and an open heart."

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Noelle looked down at Nolan who was strapped to her chest in his carrier before looking up at the auto shop that Jax owned. She took note of the bright blue letters. _JT's_. She shook her head as she touched her face, hoping that she didn't look like she had spent the last four hours crying in her mom's office as she thought about every bad thing that could potentially happen between her and Jax. "Well Nolan, let's get your sister and say hi to your daddy."

She shuffled towards the open garage, looking around to find it completely empty save for the light coming from the office. She moved to the office and let herself in, smiling as she saw her three year old sitting at the desk and coloring. "Hey baby love."

"Hi mommy! I colored so many pictures." Janelle smiled as she set down the marker she was using and slipped off the chair and moved towards her mom. "I missed you so much! Daddy only had one candy, I didn't have to fire him."

"I missed you more." Noelle smiled down at her. "Yeah? He was good? That's great, I'm glad that you didn't have to fire him. He needs the job so he can make money and buy you and your brothers some fun stuff. Where is your dad?"

"He went around back, some truck is dropping off packages." Janelle pushed her hair out of her face and smiled. "It's a huge truck! He told me to stay in here because it's not safe back there."

She nodded. "You stay here. I'm gonna go see the big truck." Noelle kissed her daughter's head before moving out of the office and back into the garage, towards the door that lead to the loading dock in the back of the business. She opened it a crack, trying to listen into the conversation before she opened it wider, sticking her head out to see where Jax was. "He-." She stopped herself as her eyes landed on a familiar face, one of the Sons that came to visit Nolan. She shook her head, her anger rising as she listened to the conversation.

"You're killing me here Decker." Jax shook his head as he looked at his brother, his eyes not even taking in the slightly open garage door. "This was supposed to be a small shipment and you said no Sons were gonna be showing up here. It's risky. I don't need my wife finding out about this shit, she's already suspicious."

Decker shrugged. "I know but I couldn't help but come up with the shipment." He shook his head as he watched the last box be unloaded. "It's only this time and two more times. Then we'll be out of your hair and your girl won't have anything to be suspicious about it."

He sighed as he rubbed his face. "Alright but make this fast. She'll be here any minute to pick up Janelle."

Noelle slinked back into the garage, pulling the door closed behind her as she felt her face grow hot with anger. "Fucking asshole." She growled as she moved towards the office, trying to keep her anger hidden from her daughter. "I'm gonna put you and Nolan in the truck. I need to talk to your dad for a little bit then we can grab a burger and some fries."

"Ok mommy!" Janelle grabbed her backpack before following after her mom. "I want onions on my burger."

"I know my love." She nodded as she opened the back door to her Range Rover and watched her daughter climb in and into her seat. She strapped Janelle in before doing the same with Nolan. "You guys sit tight, it'll only be a minute." She passed Janelle her phone. "Play your game baby girl and watch your brother." She turned on her heels as she rushed back into the garage, her eyes scanning the space for something to torch. "Fucking asshole, getting back into it with the Sons." She spat as she grabbed a gas can and started drizzling it all over the floor. "Fucking jerk."

She fished around her purse for her black zippo before pausing to look at the puddle of gasoline. "Think, think. Think Chemistry." She tapped on her chin before tossing some motor oil into the mix before lighting a gasoline soaked rag and tossing it to the floor before running out of the garage and towards her SUV. "I told you it'd be quick babe." She looked into the back seat at her kids and smiled before starting the vehicle and turning on her lights as she stared straight ahead at the garage, smiling to herself as she heard the fire alarms start to blare.

Jax rushed into the garage, his mind going a mile a minute as he rushed into the office to find his daughter to be gone. "Fuck!" He covered his face as the smoke grew thicker and blacker as he made his way out of the garage behind the prospects and Decker. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He shook his head as they made it out of the garage and into the parking lot, his blue eyes landing on the red SUV, that was passing slowly. He shook his head, the impact of the situation settling deep into his soul.

He made eye contact with his wife before shaking himself out of his thoughts. "Noelle!" He called after her as she sped up. "Fuck!" He turned back and looked at the flames and smoke billowing from the garage before he sunk to the ground, his head buried in his hands. "She found out! She saw you fuckers." He looked up at the men surrounding him. "She fucking found out." He watched as the garage continued to burn. With one small mistake, he stoked the slow burning fire. Not only was his watching his business burn, he was watching his marriage burn too.

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 **so, that was the final chapter. well there's an epilogue coming after this but it's finally over. I know it was kind of abrupt and unexpected but I am happy with the way it ended. Leaves everything pretty much up in the air, letting you draw your own conclusions as to what exactly happens between Jax and Noelle. Um, also thanks for the readers who stuck with the story from the start, thanks to those who jumped in during the middle or even the end. It was all appreciated and I loved reading the reviews, even though they became sparse. but it was fun nonetheless. I look forward to my next journey and sharing it with you all.  
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	36. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Hey daddy." Janelle smiled at her father as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "I missed you so much." She pulled back and looked up at him before resting her head against his chest for a few more moments. "Did you miss me?"

Jax nodded as he eyed the brunette before him. "Yeah, I missed you darlin'." He smiled widely as he pressed a kiss to Janelle's forehead. "It's been way too long." He shook his head as he watched the teenager drop to the leather sofa. "Where's your brother?"

"Nolan is outside, he's on the phone with his girlfriend." She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "No courtesy at all." She shrugged as she scanned the clubhouse, her eyes instantly landing on her older brother Abel. "He left ya know… He just left on his eighteenth birthday without as much as a damn word to mom."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know. He told me when he came to visit me. I told him that he should've told her what he was doing."

"I agree." The sixteen year old nodded. "It wrecked mom, she didn't want this shit for Abel. You did seven fucking years in jail after you became a Son again. She wanted him to be better and do better." Janelle fiddled with her nose ring before dropping her hands to her lap as she turned her gaze back on her father. "I missed you so much dad. You missed the last seven birthdays. We haven't had one together since I was nine, I'm about to be seventeen in a few weeks, will you be there?"

"Yes, I'll be there." Jax smiled at his daughter, feeling the impact of the last seven years bear down on his shoulders once again. Not only had he made the initial mistake of helping the Sons he had ended up helping them a few more times before patching back into the club and rising up the ranks once again to become the Redwoods Sergeant at Arms before getting arrested with the clubs and landing a seven year sentence that took him away from his children. "I wouldn't miss it for anything."

"Good." Nolan dropped onto his sister's lap and smirked up at her. "She'd cry for ten years if you missed her birthday. She cried a month when it was her sixteenth birthday. She couldn't even leave mom's room without bursting into tears because you weren't there for her sweet sixteen. It was pretty dope though, she got a new car."

"I didn't know you got a new car." Jax smiled at his son before looking at daughter. "What kind of car did your mom get you?"

Janelle shrugged. "Her _boyfriend_ bought me a BMW." She rolled her eyes. "I love the car so much but it's such a typical rich white girl starter car. I can't really complain about much else because it's a car and it gives me my much needed independence."

"Your mom's boyfriend is buying you expensive gifts?" Jax shook his head. "That seems like something a step-dad would do not just a boyfriend."

"It was basically a bribe." Nolan scoffed. "A hey, stop fucking my son and take this car type of bribe. Janelle was dating the guy's son before the guy was dating mom." He rolled his eyes. "Kinda fucked up huh? They had to break up so mom and Brody could link up."

"Shut up idiot." She smacked her brother's head before looking at her dad. "I wasn't fucking the kid dad. We were just dating. It wasn't even that serious or anything."

Jax nodded slowly a wave of relief rolling over him as he watched the two teens interact with each other. "You guys need to go to the house and settle in. Abel and I will be by in an hour. You hear me?"

Nolan stood up and pulled Janelle to her feet. "Yeah dad we hear ya loud and clear. You're gonna go recap with Abel and see what shit you can get out of him."

"Yo, what the actual fuck." Janelle looked up from her phone. "Gracie is having a fucking party and I'm out of town. That stupid cunt, she knew I was leaving. She's so not my best friend anymore. Disloyal bitch."

"Hey, hey." Jax shook his head. "Watch your fucking mouth Janelle. I know you don't talk like that around your mom so don't do it around me. You got it?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "No cussing."

"That goes for you too Nolan." He turned his icy gaze on his thirteen year old. "You watch your mouth too. If you don't do it in front of Noelle or Blair then you don't do it in front of me. Now, go to the house and settle in. Your brother and I will be there after church."

The brunette nodded as she grabbed her younger brother's hand and started pulling him towards the front doors. "Dad's got meaner." She murmured as they got into her car. "We'll just grab some beer and go to the house. It's summer time, we have to have fun. Live it up just like the guys in the club do. We are club kids after all."

"Yeah we are." Nolan nodded as he smiled at his older sister. "We are the club kids and we need to act like it. Without mom knowing though, she'd kick our asses if she saw us acting fools right now. Delinquents in Charming, cookie cutter kids in Orange County." He placed a cigarette between his lips and smirked before lighting it up. "Here's to spending the summer in good ol' Charming."

Janelle nodded as she peeled out of the Teller-Morrow lot. "Yeah, cheers to raising hell in Charming. We're gonna make this town our bitch before the summer is up. Here's to making memories that'll stay with us until we either get alzheimer's or die. Whatever comes first." She yanked the cigarette from her brother's lips and took a long drag before passing it back. "It's the summer of club kids… May we become legends among ourselves."

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 **Ha, that was a mean teaser to what the kids turned out to be like in their teens. bet you didn't see that coming, especially from Miss Janelle. but whatever, I hope you guys got the hint about what my next story is going to be about. So keep your eyes open for that. also, thank you for reading this epilogue. like I said before, it's been real you guys.  
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